Bhubaneswar: The Niladri Bije ritual, the last phase of the annual chariot festival, was performed smoothly as the Holy Trinities entered their abode, Srimandir, marking the end of the annual chariot festival in Puri on Tuesday. Thousands of devotees assembled in the holy coastal town to witness this sacred ceremony.
As per the centuries-old tradition, on ‘Niladri Bije’ or the homecoming ceremony of the deities, the ‘Chaturdha Murti’—Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra, and Chakraraj Lord Sudarshan—are taken back to the sanctum sanctorum of the Jagannath temple from their respective chariots with a ceremonial procession known as ‘Goti Pahandi’.
Chakraraj Lord Sudarshan was taken to the sanctum sanctorum followed by Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra in Goti Pahandi. Finally, Lord Jagannath was taken to the temple while Goddess Laxmi closed the main door of the shrine, refusing to allow Lord Jagannath to enter the temple. Later, Lord Jagannath pacified Goddess Laxmi’s anger by offering her rasagola to gain entry into the temple.
The holy siblings, who had gone to their ‘Janma Bedi’ or birthplace in Gundicha Temple, around 3 km away from the Jagannath Temple, on a nine-day sojourn on June 27 this year, finally entered the 12th-century shrine on Tuesday in a ceremony popularly known as the ‘Niladri Bije’.
With this significant part of the Niladri Bije ritual, the annual Rath Yatra of the holy siblings came to an end. The ritual is observed on the Trayodashi tithi of the Shukla Paksha (13th day of the bright fortnight) in the Asadha month of the Hindu almanac.
