Sea Of Devotees Flock Puri’s Jagannath Temple On Dola Purnima

Puri: A sea of devotees made their way to Puri’s Jagannath Temple, which opened at 3 am on Monday, to offer prayers and catch a glimpse of Lord Jagannath and his siblings, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra on the occasion of Dola Purnima.

On this day, the idols of Lord Jagannath and his siblings are draped with a silk cloth and adorned with 32 pieces of gold ornaments, giving them a royal look.

Speaking about the event, priest Singhari Loknath Kar said, “Now the Lord is seated on the singhasan (throne). Several rituals will be performed including the reading of the new panjika (almanac).”

An image of Lord Jagannath was also placed on a dais outside the temple’s sanctorum. Devotees offered the colourful dyes (Holi) to the Lord and sang hymns in his praise.

Expressing her happiness, a female devotee said, “The Lord coming out from his sanctum sanctorum to give darshan and play colours with his devotees is something which is unique. It’s bewitching. I just can’t explain.”

Several police officers along with 40 platoons of police forces were deployed at the temple to maintain law and order.