Puri: The famous ‘Niladri Bije’ ritual of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Devi Subhadra in Puri will be held today where the holy deities will enter into Srimandir.
Niladri Bije is the ritual of Lord Jagannath’s return with his siblings from the chariots to the Srimandir in ‘Goti Pahandi’. It is the procession of the holy deities from the chariots to Ratna Singhasana (sanctum).
In the ‘Goti Pahandi’ procession, the Deities move one after another, which means the next Deity only moves from the chariot only after the former Deity reached the Ratna Singhasana. Before entering the main temple, a traditional act between the servitors of Lord Jagannath and Devi Lakshmi takes place at the main gate, known as Jaya Vijaya Door, of the temple.
It is popularly believed that Devi Lakshmi, wife of Lord Jagannath, gets angry as she was left in the Srimandir and was not a part of the Rath Yatra to the Gundicha temple. She only allows Lord Balabhadra, Goddess Subhadra, and Lord Sudarshana into the temple and closes the temple gate for Lord Jagannath.
Hence, in order to convince Devi Lakshmi, Lord Jagannath offers rasagolla (a sweet dish made of curd cheese) and requests her to forgive him.
Following this, Lord Jagannath is made to sit beside Devi Lakshmi where a ritual of reunion is rehearsed and finally Lord Jagannath ascends the Ratna Singhasana.
The world-famous Rath Yatra festival of the holy trinity will come to an end with the Niladri Bije ritual today.
Ms Kalinga