PURI: Lakhs of devotees had ‘Sandhya Darshan’ of the Trinity in the sanctum sanctorum of Gundicha temple here on Sunday. As per belief, whoever witnesses the deities (in Baman Avatar atop the Ratnasimhasan of Gundicha temple) and takes Mahaprasad gets salvation.
Hundreds of cooks and support staff were busy in Gundicha temple kitchen to prepare huge quantity of Mahaprasad for offering to the deities. Sources said over two lakh devotees feasted on Mahaprasad. Meanwhile, heavy demand from the devotees sent the price of Mahaprasad soaring.
Early in the morning, long queues of devotees were seen outside Gundicha temple. Since the temple administration had announced to close ‘Sandhya Darshan’ by 7 pm, devotees preferred to have early ‘darshan’ of the deities.Meanwhile, as part of ‘Bahuda Yatra’ (return car festival) preparations, the three chariots were given a south turn (Dakshin Moda) and parked at ‘Saradha Bali’ in front of the ‘Nakachana Dwar’ (exit gate) of the Gundicha temple.
As per the Bahuda Yatra schedule released by the temple administration, the deities would be escorted out in Goti Pahandi (one by one) from the sanctum sanctorum of Gundicha temple after observance of ‘Mangala Arati’, ‘Mailum’, ‘Tadap Laagi’, ‘Rosa Homa’, ‘Abakash’ and ‘Surya Puja’ on Monday. Later, the deities would be offered ‘Gopal Bhog’ and dressed in journey attires.
On Sunday night, the Daita servitors covered ‘Chhenapatta’ (body armours) on the Trinity to bear the stress of ‘Pahandi.’
‘Pahandi’ would commence by 11 am and completed by 1.30 pm. ‘Chherapahanra’ by Gajapati King Dibyasingha Deb would be performed from 2 pm to 3 pm. The chariots would be pulled by 3.30 pm.
Elaborate security arrangements have been put in place by the district administration for Bahuda Yatra. Collector Arabind Agarwal, SP Sarthak Sarangi and the temple administration have apprised top Government officials of the preparations for ‘Bahuda Yatra, ‘Sunavesha’ and ‘Niladri Bije’ rituals of the deities.