Puri: The ‘Pahili Bhoga’ (first offering) ritual was held at the Sri Jagannath temple here to mark ‘Dhanu Sankranti’ in the early morning today.
In accordance with a decision taken during the Chhatisha Nijog meeting which was held yesterday under the chairmanship of SJTA chief Pradipta Mohapatra, the ‘Garbha Griha’ of the temple was opened at 3 am and the rituals were started.
Later, rituals like ‘mangal aarti’, ‘mailam’, ‘abakash’, ‘Surjya Puja’, ‘dwarapal puja’ and ‘besha’ was continued as per the fixed schedule after cleaning and purification of the temple. The ‘Pahili Bhoga’ ritual was held finally between 6.20 am and 6.50 am.
The day of ‘Dhanu Sankranti’ marks the beginning of a month-long festivity for the deities during which mother Yashoda cooks for Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra in the absence of Goddess Laxmi who is on a visit to her parent’s house. A special offering ‘Dhanu Muan’ gets added to the menu of the deities during this period which ends on Makar Sankranti in January next year.
The Chhatisha Nijog meeting yesterday decided to open the main entrance of the temple at 3.00 am every day and close it sharp at 11 am till Makar Sankranti. A decision was also taken to close the main gate of the Jagannath Temple early at 9.30 pm on December 31 and open early at 2.30 am on January 1 for New Year.
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Ms Kalinga