Puri: Perhaps for the first time, the Srimandir in Puri remained open all night for public darshan on Sunday so that devotees can offer prayers to the Lord Jagannath and his sibling deities on the eve of Kartika Purnima.
Keeping in view the massive gathering of devotees on holy Kartika Purnima, the temple administration took a decision in this regard. Around one lakh devotees are expected to throng the shrine today.
On Kartika Purnima, Lord Jagannath and HIS siblings Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra are adorned in Raj Rajeswar Besha.
After performing Mangal Arati, Mailam, Tadap Lagi and Abakash rituals of the Trinity and offering Gopal Bhog, servitors started dressing the deities with huge gold ornaments and other valuable items. After completion of the dressing, all the Lords wore Raj Rajeswar Besha, which is similar to Suna Besha.
A huge number of devotees take holy dip in Panch Tirtha (five sacred ponds) on the occasion and float boats (Boita) at Mahodadhi (sea beach). Then, the devotees throng to the temple to get a glimpse of the holy deities.
This Raj Rajeswar Besha is observed on Kartik Purnima in each year. This Besha is like Suna Besha on the Chariot in front of Lions gate of Sri Mandir. This Besha is mostly liked by the local kings of Odisha and they used to donate different golden ornaments bejeweled with valuable stones. The deities are decorated with 23 types of golden ornaments.
The deities, among others, will be adorned with giant feet, hands, huge crown, chest guards, garlands, conch, lotus, besides weapons like Chakra, all made in pure gold, weighing over 200 kg.
Meanwhile, elaborate arrangements have been made by Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) and Puri district police for smooth darshan on Monday. Central Range IGP Ashish Kumar Singh yesterday visited Puri and reviewed the arrangements made for the devotees.
At least 10 platoons of police personnel are being deployed for crowd control. Besides, more lifeguards will also be stationed on the beach to prevent any untoward incident. Special patrolling has also been arranged at the beachside, said a senior police official.
Special arrangements have been made for roads leading to Puri from Bhubaneswar, Konark and Brahmagiri, he said.
“We have taken all the steps to ensure smooth darshan, 10 platoons of police force are being deployed for crowd management. Additional forces are also deployed for traffic management. More lifeguards will be deployed on the beach to prevent any untoward incident,” Puri SP, KB Singh said.
Vehicles are not allowed from Market Chhak. Special arrangements for traffic management have been made on roads leading to the city from Bhubaneswar, Konark and Brahmagiri.
