Puri: The daily rituals of Lord Jagannath performed in the temple are popularly known as nitis, which signifies a particular religious rite.
The religious rites are performed by particular servitors. For the performance of various rituals in the temple, a large number of servitors use to extend their services on a hereditary basis.
Among all the rituals, there is another ritual named- 'Gahan Bije', when Puri queen, accompanied by her husband Puri King Gajapati performs a special prayer before the presiding deities of the Jagannath temple inside the sanctum sanctorum.
As per the tradition, the holy service was commissioned after King Dibya Singh Dev, considered as the foremost servitor in front of the Lord Jagannath. According to the religious code Loknath Mudirasta, a minor servitor boy chosen earlier by the temple guided the queen and the king to the temple and performed a complex set of religious service to the three presiding deities - Lord Jagannath, his elder Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra on behalf of the queen.
In a special interaction with ETV Bharat, Sidheswar Mohapatra, Sri Jagannath culture scholar said," The queen (maharani) along with Maharaja and the family members go to the temple is known as Gahan Bije. This ritual is organised with a traditional form. Raja will go on " Sabari"and Rani will go in "Palaki".Only one servitor who is known as " Mudrihasta" or the youngest or the child servitor will be accompanied with them."
"Before the Queen enters the Jagannath temple, the shrine is first cleaned. In those days, none of the servitors, members of “Mukti Mandap (High Seat reserved for Brahmins), devotees and bodyguards do not stay inside the temple. The queen enters through the Lions Gate and only ‘ Mudi Rath’, a servitor, accompanies her," he said.
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"The King’s palanquin stops near the “Arun Stambha" (the dark red pillar) in front of the Lion gate. The Queen would enter the temple premises in her palanquin. The Queen’s palanquin would stop near the holy banyan tree known as Kalpabata. After that all rituals are performed, The queen sees the grand idol of the Lord and prostrates before them. This ritual is being followed since long. So queen's ceremonial visit to the temple to have 'darshan' is known as the Gahan Bije," Mohapatra added.
As per Hindu tradition, women never enter the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. This unique tradition of 'Gahan Bije' empowers the queen to enter sanctum sanctorum once in her life-time thus providing her with the right of servitor to worship the deities. As per convention, the queen of Puri visits the temple along with the king once in her lifetime.
Apart from the family members of the Puri King, the invitees include royal couples of Nilagiri, Khandapara, Kalahandi, Jaipur, Bamanda, Bolangir, Kishengarh, Khadial and Dhenkanal. The privilege is also given to all the queens of other princely states of Odisha once in their lifetime to perform 'Gahan Bije'.
