Puri: As part of the secret rituals being performed during the ongoing fortnight-long ‘Anasara’ of the sibling deities at Shree Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s Puri, sacred Phuluri Tela seva is being conducted at the shrine on Friday.
Phuluri Tela, a special herbal medicinal oil, is being applied on the deities inside the 12th century shrine for their speedy recovery from illness.
Sources said Lord Balahadra, Lord Jagannath and Devi Subhadra have been suffering from high fever following divine bath on the occasion of Snana Purnima held on June 4. The deities are under treatment with herbal medicines in ‘anasara ghara’ (recovery room) inside the temple.
After having massage with Phuluri oil, the deities will recover from illness and will give darshan to lakhs of devotees in Nabajoubana Besha on Anasara Bedi a day before Rath Yatra scheduled to be held on June 20.
As per tradition, successors of Biswabasu and Bidyapati are entitled to apply herbal oil on bodies before removing pastes made from herbs applied on the ailing deities on the pedestal of Anasara house.
The Phuluri Tela is provided by Bada Odia mutt. The herbal oil is prepared with compositions of pure sesame oil, roots of Bena, different fragrant flowers including Jasmine and Jui. The sesame oil mixed with all the above ingredients is kept in an earthen pot. The pot is sealed with clay and kept beneath the ground for a period of one year. The pot is buried under the ground on Hera Panchami and the mutt hands it over to the temple servitors during Anansara period for treatment of deities.
