Sweet and sermon return for deities

Earthen pots being taken to the Jagannath temple for preparation of bhog. Picture by Sarat Patra

Bhubaneswar July 25: After an 11-day outing, Lord Jagannath and his siblings were taken back their perma- nent abode.

Lakhs of devotees witnessed the colourful procession braving incessant rainfall last night.

“The pahandi bije ritual of the deities was completed in the early hours of Sunday.

“The daitapati sevayats performed the Sarbanga Puja of the Trinity.

After that the sevayats went through several other rituals,” said Laxmidhar Pujapanda, public relations officer of the Jagannath temple administration.

Following age-old tradition, devotees offered rasogolla to Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra on the chariots. A ritual, in which Lord Jagannath offers rasogalla to his consort Goddess Mahalaxmi while entering the sanctum sanctorum, was also performed. Lord Jagannath and his siblings have just returned from a nine-day sojourn to Gund- icha temple.

According to legend, the triad of deities went on their vacation without informing Goddess Mahalaxmi, which left the Goddess annoyed.

So she sulked when the Lord was entering the shrine on niladri bije.

Two sets of sevayats of the temple re-created the heated exchange between Lord Jagannath and his consort, Goddess Mahalaxmi, near the shrine entrance.

The act is called Bachanika. Lord Jagannath tried to appease the Goddess with an offering of rasogolla.

“The temple administration had made elaborate arrangements for smooth conduct of the rituals,” Pujapanda said.

“The rath yatra is made up of several complex rituals. But every ritual of Lord Jagannath holds some message for the society.

“Being a servant of the Trinity, we are very happy that the deities returned to the sanctum sanctorum after their 11-day outing,” said Ipsit Pratihari, a sevayat of the Lord.

“Now devotees can see the Lord in his abode and from today the devotees will get the mahaprasad,” he added.