PURI: With only three days left for Sri Jagannath Temple to reopen for devotees, the deities were dressed in warm clothes as per a ritual called ‘Ghodalagi’ on Sunday. As per tradition, the deities are covered with blankets with a headgear made of wool and cotton to beat the chill. The colour of the dress is changed each day of the week as per the ruling star. As per the temple almanac, each star has an unique colour of its own.
While on Monday, it is grey, on Tuesday it is a blend of five different colours called ‘Barapatia, blue is for Wednesday, yellow for Thursday, white for Friday, black for Saturday and red for Sunday. The Trinity’s clothes are changed in the afternoon after the offering of ‘bhog’.
The practice starts from ‘Odhana Sasthi’ and continues till ‘Basant Panchami’ (Saraswati Puja). It is common for devotees to imitate the deities while choosing the colour of their dress during the period. Like several other rituals this year, devotees could not catch a glimpse of the Trinity in the new besha on the day.