PURI: A million devotees thronged Puri on Sunday to witness the ‘Suna Besha’ of the Holy Trinity.
Amidst five-layer security, two huge streams of devotees were seen on the Grand Road. While one headed towards chariots, another returned after witnessing the resplendent attire of the deities on their three chariots near Simhadwar of the Shri Jagannath Temple. Though ‘Suna Besha’ is observed inside the temple four times a year, this is held only once outside the shrine and on the chariots during Rath Yatra.
Under an overcast sky with high humidity, pilgrims made a beeline on ‘Bada Danda’ to catch a glimpse of the deities in their spectacular attire of gold. After the offering ‘Sakal Dhupa,’ the process for Suna Besha began. The jewellery was drawn from the temple treasury and handed over to the dressers concerned of the deities on three chariots amidst tight security.
Three separate sets of dressers simultaneously began fixing the gold attires and ornaments on the deities. It started at about 4 pm and the ‘Besha’ was completed by 5 pm. The ‘darshan’ continued till 11 pm. Ornaments of various types and styles measuring about 100 kg were used to decorate the deities in complete gold. The ornaments included giant limbs like feet, hands and insignias like mace, lotus, wheel and conch, chandra (moon) and Surya (sun). The giant gold tiaras besides a number of large gem-studded necklaces like Haridamali, Odiani, Jhumpa and other garlands were used in the ‘Suna Besha’. The deities wore big “kundalas” (earrings) besides chest guards, all made of gold.
Since early in the morning, thousands of devotees poured into the city and their flow increased with every passing hour. They had to walk at least 7 km in every direction to reach the Simhadwar. The administration had banned all vehicles to Grand Road and closed entry points while allowing devotees from Municipal Market square to walk through the 1 km long entry barricades.
However, residents, particularly those residing alongside ‘Bada Danda’ were peeved at the arrangements which compelled them to reach their houses taking circuitous routes only to arrive at the same place with no entry instruction.
Grand attire
Ornaments of various types and styles measuring about 100 kg were used to decorate the deities in complete gold