Sunabesha ritual performed in Puri, Lord Jagannath dazzles with mounds of gold ornaments
The deities were adorned with around 200 kg of gold ornaments
By Saroj Behera
Puri, June 29: After the completion of their nine-day sojourn, Lord Jagannath and His siblings – elder brother Lord Balabhadra and younger sister Goddess Subhadra – on Thursday gave darshan to devotees in Rajarajeswar Besha, popularly known as Suna Besha.
The significant characteristic of the Suna Besha (golden attire) ritual is that the three deities are adorned with heavy gold ornaments atop the chariots in front of the Singhadwar of the 12th century shrine. The Holy Trinity wore around 200 kg of gold ornaments.
As the evening descended, the temple priests brought mounds of gold ornaments from the Bhitara Bhandarghar or treasury of Srimandir, the abode of Lord Jagannath, and adorned the deities.
Lakhs of devotees witnessed the Sunabesha of Lord Jagannath and His siblings.
The deities of Srimandir appear in golden attire on four other occasions such as Dussehra, Kartika Purnima, Pausa Purnima and Dolapurnima. Except Sunabesha when the deities are adorned with gold ornaments on the chariots, the ritual is conducted inside the temple on other occasions.
As scheduled, Suna Besha ritual started atop the chariots at 4.30 am. The special ritual is being performed till this report was filed.
As legend goes, Gajapati King Kapilendra Deb had brought a huge amount of gold jewellery by conquering a neighbouring kingdom. He donated all the valuable metals to the temple in 1460. Since then, the Suna Besha has been a major ritual of the deities.
Elaborate security arrangements have been made for the smooth darshan of the devotees.
After Suna Besha, Adharapana and Niladri Bije rituals of the deities will be observed on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Adharapana is a special drink prepared and offered to ‘Parswa Debatas’ ( deities guarding deities around the chariots) and salvation of ghostly bodies and souls wandering near the deities during the Rath Yatra.
On July 1, Saturday, the deities will return to the temple and be placed on the sanctum sanctorum. This ritual is called Niladri Bije.
The district administration and police have made elaborate arrangements for the final phase rituals of Rath Yatra.
