Puri: A large number of devotees made a long beeline to have first glimpse of Chaturdhamurti, Lord Balabhadra Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath along with Sudarshan) on the occasion of Nabajouban darshan at the Shree Jagannath Temple here after the deities recovered from 14-day long illness.
After bathing with 108 pots of holy water on Snana Purnima, Lord Jagannath and his siblings have been under medication at the Anasara Ghara since June 5.
The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) and Odisha Police have made elaborate arrangements for the smooth darshan of the Lords.
The Parimanika darshan of the Lords was started early at 7.20 AM due to early completion of rituals and this was followed by the Sahana Mela darshan from 8.05 AM in which the devotees witnessed the Nabajoubana Besha (attire) of the Lords from the Bhitara Katha inside the Jagmohan, said Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena, who camped here for last three days.
For Parimanik darshan, the devotees collected tickets from the office of the temple administration. However, they had a free darshan of the Lords during the Sahana Mela which continued till 11 AM.
The Parimanik Darshan and the Sahana Mela Darshan had begun after the servitors brought the deities from inside of the shrine and performed Mangala Alati and Mailam Lagi, Netrotsav Bandapana and Yatrangi Mahasnana rituals.
There will be no darshan of the Holy Trinity later in the day. Devotees can move around in the inner compound and avail darshan of other deities residing within the temple complex.
Meanwhile, construction of the three chariots are fully completed. A mock drill of chariot pulling was held in the reserve police grounds today.
The Chief Secretary prayed before Lord Jagannath for a smooth weather condition during the Rath Yatra, tomorrow. He said all arrangements have been made keeping the heatwave condition in mind. For timely completion of rituals, another round of meeting with senior servitors will be held this evening, Shri Jena informed the media.
“I wished to have a darshan of Lord Jagannath and today my wish was fulfilled on this auspicious day. I am very happy and thanks to the administration for the arrangements,” said an old lady devotee after coming out of the temple.
