BARIPADA: Devotees in large numbers thronged the Mausima temple in Baripada to witness the Suna Besha or Dwarika Besha of Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra on Friday.
Dwarika Besha is unique to Rath Yatra celebrations here as the deities adorn golden ornaments before they return to the main temple in Bahuda Yatra unlike in other parts of the state when Suna Besha is observed after the Trinity return to the main temple from their nine-day sojourn.
After a set of rituals like mangala alati, maha snana and abakash, the servitors began adorning the deities in gold ornaments and devotees were allowed to get ‘darshan’ of the Trinity in Suna Besha from 9 am to 11 am. Later, ‘khechudi’ bhog was offered to the deities and preparations of Bahuda Yatra began at around 2 pm.
The Trinity adorning silver ornaments and flowers were brought out of the southern gate of Mausima temple in ‘pahandi’ at 5.30 pm.
The ‘pahandi’ ceremony was delayed by an hour due to rains. Like Rath Yatra, Bahuda is a three-day affair in Baripada.
Servitors of Lord Jagannath and Lord Balabhadra, Arun Kumar Mishra and Kameswar Tripathy said the deities return in the same fashion like they had arrived in Mausima temple in Rath Yatra.
While the deities were brought to their chariots after Suna Besha rituals were over, pulling of chariots begins a day after.
On Saturday, chariot of Lord Jagannath and Devi Subhadra would be pulled by devotees.
As per tradition, the chariot of Devi Subhadra ‘Darpadalana’ will be pulled only by women devotees. The practice dates back to 1975 and was started by women leaders like Chandrika Mohapatra and Kalpana Sarangi on International Women’s Day.
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While chariot of Lord Jagannath will be pulled to the main temple on the day, pulling of Darpadalana would stop in the evening and resume on Sunday. Similarly, chariot of Lord Balabhadra will be pulled on Sunday.
A tribal affair in Sabara Srikhetra:
A large number of tribals from neighbouring villages of Koraput town participated in the homecoming ceremony of Trinity at Sabara Srikhetra on Friday.
The deities were given a holy bath early in the morning and after customary rituals, they were taken to their chariots in ceremonial ‘pahandi’ amidst chanting of mantras and playing of folk musical instruments.
Dressed in their traditional attire, people from Bhumiya, Kondha, Bhotra, Paraja, Saura, Gadava, Bonda and Darua tribes visited Sabara Srikhetra on the day to participate in the festival.
In Ganjam, devotees participated in pulling the chariots at Khaspa street, Gosaninuagaon, Utkal Ashram road, Bijipur, Courtpeta, Utkal Cinema chhak.
Across the district, Bahuda Yatra was celebrated in 239 temples.
Return journey peaceful:
The holy Trinity returned to Sri Baldevjew temple in Bahuda Yatra at Keonjhar town on Friday. Thousands of devotees took part in the return journey and pulled the chariot said to be the tallest in the world.
The chariot is 72-feet high. Early in the morning, rituals like ‘abakash’, ‘lugalagi’, ‘puspanjali’ and ‘pahandi besha’ were observed. The ceremonial ‘pahandi’ of the three deities began at 1.30 pm. Pulling of chariot began at 4.30 pm.
Collector Ashish Thakre, scion of royal family Dhananjaya Narayan Bhanjdeo and executive officer of temple Somnath Pradhan were present.