Bhubaneswar: With the Hera Panchami and Dakhina Moda rituals over, now preparations are underway for the Bahuda Yatra of Lord Jagannath and His sibling deities Lord Balbhadra and Devi Subhadra from their sojourn to the Gundicha Temple to Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri on Sunday.
As a part of the preparations, the ‘Dakhina Moda’ ritual began today wherein the three chariots parked on Saradhabali in front of Gundicha Temple are being turned towards Jagannath Temple in the south. Subsequently, the chariots will be parked near Nakachana Dwara, the eastern gate of the shrine.
The chariot of Goddess Subhadra, Darpadalan, was first to be turned towards the south. It was followed by Lord Balabhadra’s Taladhwaja and Jagannath’s Nandighosha.
The ‘Dakhina Moda’ ritual started after Sakala Dhupa was offered to the Holy Trinity by the servitors who brought ajnamallyas to serve it to the Biswakarmas.
This morning, Mangala Alati of the Lords was delayed as Goddess Mahalaxmi returned to Shree Jagannath Temple around 5.40 am after receiving the ajnamallyas (the consent garland).
According to tradition, servitors carrying representative Goddess Mahalakshmi (known as Subarna Mahalaxmi) in a bedecked palanquin reached the Gundicha Temple around 3.20 am on Sunday. Lord Jagannath’s consort Goddess Mahalaxmi is peeved over Him for not taking Her along on the annual sojourn.
Goddess Mahalaxmi was then taken to the Jaya Bijaya gate where the Goddess threw ‘Moha Churna’ (powder of a herb given to Her by Goddess Bimala) at Her husband. Following this, the Pati Mahapatra offered the ajnamallyas of Lord Jagannath to the Goddess assuring Her that He would return to Srimandir after three days.
