Puri: Lord Jagannath and his siblings Lord Balbhadra and Devi Subhadra will give darshan in Sunabesha (golden attire) in the Puri Srimandir today on the occasion of Dola Yatra – which is considered one of the 12 annual yatras of the Lord.
The Dol Yatra is a special occasion when the Trinity, adorned in gold ornaments, play fagu (the festival of colours) with abir with their devotees. The devotees flock to the Srimandir on this occasion to play fagu with the Lord and take his blessings before they take part in the Dol Yatra festival with others. A special ritual is performed on this occasion.
Representative idols of the Trinity – Gobinda, Bhudevi and Sridevi – will be carried on Dola Vimanas (specially decorated palanquins) to Dola Mandap (alter) on the occasion. The deities and servitors will then play Holi by smearing colours on each other, keeping with the tradition.
On this occasion, Lord Jagannath and his devotees are seen playing fagu together with abir. It is a wonderful moment for the devotees visiting the Jagannath Temple in Puri when they enter the grabha griha after receiving Khaikora Prasad from the temple.
As per tradition, the inner door of the temple opens at 3.30 am on Dol Purnima and rituals like Mangala Alati, Milam and Tadplagi are performed. Subsequently, the Lord and his siblings are adorned in gold ornaments such as Kiriti, Chula, Chandrika, Adkani, Chandrasurya, Harida Mal and Tabil Mal and give darshan to his devotees.
While the Lord gives darshan to devotees in Sunabesha, Lord Gobinda is worshipped with Sridevi and Bhudevi at sunrise. The entire environment, filled with conch shell dust and abir, reverberates chants, prayers and sounds of conch shells making it serene.
With the Covid-19 protocols withdrawn, thousands of devotees have already descended on the Holy Town seeking the divine darshan of Lord Jagannath and playing fagu with him.
