Puri: Marking the beginning of ‘Nagarjuna Besha’, one of the rarest attire rituals of Lord Jagannath and his siblings in Puri Jagannath temple, the ‘Besha Anukula’ ceremony was held Monday. The ‘Nagarjuna Besha’ is scheduled to be observed November 27 after 25 long years.
After the commencement of the ceremony, the servitors in-charge of designing the costume of the deities have started crafting various parts of the attire. These servitors will consume only ‘Habisa Anna’ and follow certain principles for a month.
The rare ritual will be observed on 12th day of the holy month of Kartik which falls on November 27 this year. The ‘panchuka’ (last five days of holy Kartik month) will be observed over six days and the attire ritual will be observed on the sixth day.
On this day, Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra appear in ‘Nagarjuna Besha’. The last time the trinity appeared in this attire was in 1994. Lakhs of devotees had darshan of the Holy Trinity on that occasion. That year six people had died in a stampede inside the temple premises.
PNN