Puri: A large number of devotees thronged Shree Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s pilgrim town of Puri to witness ‘Suna Besha’ or golden attire of the lords on the occasion of Dussehra on Tuesday.
Devotees from different parts of the state and outside visited the 12th century shrine to have a glimpse of the deities as Lord Balabhadra, Lord Jagannath and Devi Subhadra sparkled in gold on the occasion. The special ritual is also called Rajarajeswar Besha.
On the tenth bright day of the Hindu month of Aswin, which is celebrated as Dussehra or Vijayadasami, Suna Besha is performed in Shree Jagannath temple. The three presiding deities of the temple are fully bedecked as emperors with plenty of gold jewellery.
The ritual of Ayudha Puja or worshipping of weapons, was also performed in the shrine. Five Agyan Malas – garland ordains – were offered to the three deities on this occasion.
The Mekapa servitors put all the ayudha on three silver plates and took three rounds of the shrine. Thereafter, the Puspalaka servitors offered weapons like ‘Hala Musala,’’Subarna Tadaki’, and ‘Sankha & Chakra’ to Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath respectively.
Thereafter, Lord Madan Mohan and Lord Ramakrushna were taken to the Ballava Matha Mahakala where the servitors performed the Mangaladarpana ritual. The sadhus of the Matha also offered prasad and prayer to the Lords
