Bhubaneswar: The spirit of overwhelmed devotees to have a glimpse of Lord Alarnath is still at its peak, with barely four days left for the world-famous chariot festival of the Holy Trinity, Lord Jagannath and His siblings, Lord Balabhadra, and Devi Subhadra.
On the occasion of Ekadashi, thousands of devotees have assembled at the temple premises to have a darshan of the presiding deity of Brahmagiri ‘Lord Alarnath’, offering fruits and other eatables as prasad.
As per sources, a sea of zealous devotees gathered for darshan on Tuesday, offering a whopping one quintal of fruits as prasad to Lord Alarnath and his consort, Devi Lakshmi.
Devotees have offered a pile of fruits, including bananas, grapes, jackfruit, and other varieties of fruits.
The Alarnath Temple is primarily visited by the devotees, during the ‘Anasara period’ of Lord Jagannath and His siblings, when they are quarantined inside the Anasara (sickness) chamber for 14 days to recover from illness.
As per records, the historical temple was constructed in the 9th century during the rule of King Vanudev IV. The temple rose to prominence during the 12th century, followed by renovation work carried out by Sri Ramanujacharya.
The Holy abode of Lord Alarnath became famous after the visit of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Hindu saint and founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, in 1610 A.D.
Sri Chaitanya had written many anecdotes about the temple and claimed to have visualised the manifestation of Lord Jagannath at Alarnath temple premises.
The temple is also famous for its unique ‘Kheeri Prasad’ (rice pudding), savoured by thousands of devotees.
Every day more than 10,000 litres of milk are used to make prasad for Lord Alarnath during the Anasara period.
