PURI: Lord Jagannath and his siblings Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra were adorned in Rajrajeswar Besha on the occasion of Kartika Purnima on Monday.
Early in the morning, servitors performed Mangal Arati, Mailam, Tadap Lagi and Abakash rituals of the Trinity and offered Gopal Bhog. Subsequently, assistant treasurer Mekap brought gold ornaments from the temple treasury and three set of servitors began dressing the deities with huge gold ornaments. It took two hours to complete the Besha.
Since the Sri Jagannath temple is closed since March 20 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there were no devotees to witness the Besha. Meanwhile, hundreds of devotees observing Kartik brata stood in a long queue to have darshan of the Patitapaban image of Lord Jagannath. Unlike previous years, they could not take holy dip in Panch Tirtha (five sacred ponds) on the occasion as the administration had imposed a ban on bathing in water bodies due to the prevailing coronavirus situation. A huge posse of police personnel was deployed at Panch Tirthas to prevent gathering of devotees.
Later in the afternoon, the Suna Besha of the Trinity was unmade and ornaments returned to the temple treasury. The daily rituals of the deities resumed with offering of Madhyahna Dhoopa. On the other hand, 13 new Covid-19 cases including four from Puri town were reported in the district on the day. So far, Puri district has reported 13,555 positive cases of which 13,272 have recovered and 101 died.