PURI: Braving heavy rain warning, lakhs of devotees thronged Puri on Saturday to witness the Suna Besha of the Trinity on their respective chariots in front of the Shree Jagannath Temple here on Saturday.
The pilgrim town witnessed an unprecedented rush, with every road leading to Puri packed with devotees. As a result, vehicular traffic on NH-316 from Bhubaneswar to Puri was severely congested, particularly near Malatipatpur, with hundreds of vehicles stranded for hours awaiting clearance from traffic police.
The administration used mobile apps to inform devotees that travel to Puri could be delayed by around two hours but the beeline continued. All temporary and permanent parking lots around the town were packed, while devotees made their way towards the Simhadwar in long queues through barricades.
Servitors adorned the deities with massive gold ornaments between 4 pm and 6 pm. Under tight security, Mekapa servitors, the traditional temple treasurers, brought three sets of jewellery from the Ratna Bhandar and handed them over to the dressers on the chariots. A five-layer security cordon was deployed around the venue.
The adornment will be removed after midnight, following which the jewellery and ornaments will be returned to the temple treasury under strict security. The Trinity is adorned in five Suna Beshas every year, four inside the temple and one on the chariots outside.
Earlier in the day, priests performed the daily rituals of the deities on the chariots. The deities were then dressed in sacred Khandua cloth before being adorned with the ornaments.
The decoration included giant gold limbs such as feet and hands, along with insignias including a mace, lotus, chakra, conch, sun and moon, as well as a gold plough. Huge gold tiaras, special necklaces and large kundalas (earrings) added to the grandeur, while chest guards (hrudapadak) completed the dazzling look.
On Sunday night, the Adhara Pana ritual will take place, where the drink will be offered to the deities on the chariots. On Monday, the homecoming ceremony, Niladri Bije, will be marked by the offering of Rasagola Bhog.
Chief administrator of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration Arabinda Padhee, Puri collector Dibyajyoti Parida and SP Prateek Singh supervised the arrangements throughout the day. DGP YB Khurania camped in Puri to ensure the smooth conduct of Suna Besha.