Brahmagiri: Every year after ‘Snana Purnima’, it’s a common practice for devotees to make a beeline for a darshan of Lord Alarnath at Brahmagiri, 23 kilometres away from Puri.
Brahamagiri becomes the second ‘shreekshetra’ for 14 days after ‘Devasnana Purnima’ in the Jagannath temple. But this year, the hustle-bustle at Alarnath temple is missing as section 144 of CrPC has been imposed to avoid gathering at the shrine in view of COVID-19 pandemic.
The administration has put up barricades around the temple and the lion gate has been sealed completely. 11 servitors are performing the temple rituals. The rituals started with ‘Dwara Phita’ at 4am.
The trinity – Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra ‘fell sick’ after the ceremonial bath Friday and retired to ‘Anasara Ghara’ for 15 days. There, they will undergo treatment.
During this ‘Anasara’ period, as per beliefs, Lord Jagannath manifests in the form of Lord Alarnath and gives darshan to his devotees. Hence, the darshan of Lord Alarnath is called ‘Anasara Darshan’. It is believed that the darshan of Lord Alarnath gives the same feeling of satisfaction as seeing the Trinity at Jagannath temple.
PNN