India News | Puri Ratha Jatra Ends with Niladri Bije;Lord Jagannath Offers Rasagola to Godess Laxmi

Puri, Jul 23 (PTI) Culminating the annual Ratha Jatra festival in absence of devotees due to COVID-19 pandemic, the divine sibling deities of Puri- Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath- Friday returned to the 12th century shine here in a special ritual called "Niladri Bije". Niladri Bije is the end of the Ratha Jatra, which this year began on July 12 when the celestial siblings embarked upon a nine-day sojourn to Shree Gundicha Temple, their birthplace, in three majestic wooden chariots. The state government had imposed shutdown with curfew in this sea side pilgrim town on Ratha Jatra (July 12), Bahuda (July 20), Suna Bhesa (July 21) and also on Niladri Bije on July 23 to avoid mass congregation of people during the prevailing pandemic period. On Thursday, the deities were offered a specially prepared sweet drink (pana) made of sugar, cheese, banana, camphor, nutmeg and black pepper among others in a ritual called 'Adhara Pana'. The people this year watched the rituals related to Ratha Jatra on televisions across the country and abroad.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik extended best wishes to all on the occasion.

"Lord Jagannath offered Rasagola to Goddess Laxmi to appease her on this day. Rasagola has its special place in the Jagannath culture and tradition. Jai Jagannath", Patnaik tweeted.

The Niladri Bije ritual day is also observed as the 'Rasagola Divas' in Odisha as Lord Jagannath offers this sweet dish to Goddess Laxmi, who was not taken by the Lord on the Ratha Jatra while his siblings joined the festival. As the Goddess is angry, Lord pacifies her by offering rasagolas and Saree.

"'Niladri Bije'' rituals began here in the afternoon when the deities were taken to the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine in "Goti Pahandi", the procession made one by one. Lord Sudarshan, worshiped here as the weapon of Lord Krishna, was first taken to the 'Ratna Singhasan', the bejewelled throne followed by Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra.

Before Lord Jagannath enters into the shrine, goddess Laxmi closes the main door to prevent him. However, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra make entry smoothly.

A traditional play is enacted between the servitors of the deity and his consort goddess Mahalaxmi. The goddess finally allows lord Jagannath to enter into the shrine after much persuasion and the lord is escorted to the Ratna Singhasan.

Shree Jagannath Temple Administration and Puri district administration thanked the servitors, the public and people of Puri in particular for the smooth conduct of the Ratha Jatra.

Noted sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik created a special sand sculpture on Puri beach on the occasion.

This was the second consecutive year that the world-famous Puri chariort festival was conducted without devotees due to COVID pandemic. SNS sns

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)