Jagannath and siblings to adorn golden attire on Suna Besha in Puri

Under the Suna Besha ritual, the deities will be decorated with 200 kg gold ornaments and occupy the chariots in front of Singhadwar. The ritual is held at the end of the nine-day sojourn of the deities.

Puri:After the nine-day sojourn of Lord Jagannath and his sibling elder brother Lord Balabhadra and sister Goddess Subhadra from Srimandir to Gundicha temple, the Holy Trinity of Puri Srimandir will dress up in the 'Rajarajeswar Besha' popularly known as Suna Besha today.

Under the Suna Besha (golden attire) ritual, the three deities adorned with heavy gold ornaments will occupy the chariots in front of the Singhadwar of the 12th century shrine.

Usually, around 200 kg of gold ornaments are used in the golden attire ritual of the deities. The golden attire ritual is held on four other occasions namely Dusssehra, Karttika Purnima, Pausa Purnima and Dolapurnima. On all these occasion, the ritual is held inside the temple. It is only during Ratha Jatra, that the Suna Besha is celebrated atop the chariots.

According to the schedule, Suna Besha ritual will begin atop the chariots at 4.30 am today. A special ritual will be performed after Mailama, Sadhi Khandua Lagi, Sandhya Alati and Ekasashi Sarnabga Niti.

According to the legend, King Kapilendra Deb had brought a huge amount of gold jewellery by conquering a neighbouring kingdom and then donated all the valuable metals to the temple in 1460. Since then, the Suna Besha is considered to be an important ritual of the deities.

Meanwhile, an elaborate security arrangement has been brought in place for ensuring a smooth hassle-free darshan for the devotees. After Suna Besha, Adharapana and Niladri Bije rituals will be observed. The final phase rituals of Rath Yatra have been arranged by the district administration and police in an elaborate manner.