Bhubaneswar: The Sandhya Darshan or Navami Darshan of Lord Jagannath and his siblings will be held today at the Adapa Mandap inside the Gundicha Temple in Puri.
Reportedly, the Sandhya Darshan has begun in the morning and will continue till 4 pm. The rituals of the holy deities are underway since morning and the gates of the Gundicha temple have been kept open for the devotees.
The barricade in front of the Singha Dwara of the Gundicha Temple has been expanded in view of the crowds for Sandhya Darshan. In addition, the fire department has set up water arrangements along with the sheds in view of the huge crowd and humidity.
According to the temple’s administration, special rituals of the holy deities including Senapata Lagi, Kusumi Lagi will be performed after the Sandhya Darshan today.
Notably, after spending a week inside the Gundicha temple, the deities commence their Bahuda Yatra on Saturday. The return journey follows the same protocol and schedule, as is found during the Ratha Yatra. During the return journey, the three chariots stop for awhile at the Mausima Temple, also known as Ardhasani Temple.
Here three deities are offered ‘Poda Pitha’, a special sweet made of rice, coconut, lentils and jaggery. Thereafter, the chariots of Balabhadra and Subhadra move forward and are parked at Lion’s gate (Singha dwara) of the temple whereas the chariot of Jagannath halts in front of the King’s palace for the divine event ‘Laxmi Narayana Bheta’.
Ms Kalinga