Puri: On the occasion of Asadha Shukla Dwadashi tithi (12th day of the bright fortnight of Hindu month Asadha) Lord Jagannath and his siblings Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra were offered Adhara Pana, a rich drink atop their respective chariots parked in front of the Singhadwar of the 12th century shrine-Shree Jagannath Temple today evening.
Later, the drink made of water, milk, cheese, cream, bananas, black pepper, cardamom, ‘nabata’, camphor, etc. was offered to Parswa Devi & Devatas (subsidiary deities) of the chariots and for the salvation of ghostly bodies.
The Adhara Pana ritual began after the offering of Sandhyadhupa bhog. Servitors then placed nine large open-mouthed barrel-shaped clay pitchers, each at least one metre high, full of drinks before the Triad on their respective chariots. The barrels reached up to the lips of the deities.
After the ‘Pancha Upachar Puja’, servitors offered the drink to the deities starting with Devi Subhadra, Lord Balabhadra and at the end, Lord Jagannath.
Soon after the offering, Puja Panda Samanta servitors smashed the earthen pitchers, spilling the drink on the floor of the chariots as an offering to the Parswa Devi & Devatas and ghostly bodies accompanying the chariots during the nine-day sojourn of the deities to the Shree Gundicha Temple.
The drink was prepared in specially made pitchers provided by Raghabdas Mutt, Bada Odia Mutt and Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) for Adhara Pana ritual.
The deities would remain on their respective chariots throughout the night and be escorted into the sanctum sanctorum of the Shree Jagannath Temple on Saturday in ceremonial Pahandi procession popularly called ‘Niladri Bije’.
