Puri: The deities of Jagannath Temple in Odishas Puri town will be attired with gold on the occasion of Dola Purnima on Tuesday.
According to sources, the representative idols of the Trinity – Gobinda, Bhudevi and Sridevi – will be carried on Dola Vimanas (specially decorated palanquins) to Dola Mandap (alter) on the occasion. The deities and servitors will then play Holi by smearing colours on each other, keeping with the tradition.
Sunabesha (golden attire ceremony) of the four deities Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Sudarshan will be held on Ratna Singhasana (the lotus shaped rostrum at the innermost chamber). A large number of devotees are expected throng the shrine for darshan of the deities decked up in gold jewellery on Dolabedi. The Dolabedi has been decorated while servitors are making all necessary arrangements for conducting the rituals for the deities.
“This evening, on the eve of Dola Purnima, special Mendhapedi ritual will be performed in Srimandir. After Madhyana Dhupa is performed, divine ordain (Agyanmala) will be obtained so that the representative deities will be taken to the Dolabedi,” said researcher Surya Narayan Ratha Sharma in a tweet Monday. He also stated that the representative of Gajapati King Dibyasingha Deb will be present during the rituals.
This morning, women of Marwari community collected cow dung. The dry dung will be ignited to burn Holika Demoness.
The administrators of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration said that all steps are being taken to ensure smooth conduct of the rituals and darshan of the deities in proper coordination with the servitors.
Notably, the deities adorn golden attire on five occasions a year and Dola Purnima is one of them. The other days are: ‘Ratha Jatra’ (July), ‘Dusshera’ (October), ‘Panchuka’ in the month of Kartik (November) and ‘Pusha Purnima’ (December).
