Bhubaneswar, July 8 (IANS) The Niladri Bije ritual, the last phase of the annual chariot festival, commenced at Puri on Tuesday. Thousands of devotees assembled at the holy coastal town of Puri on Tuesday to witness this sacred ceremony.

As per the centuries-old tradition, on ‘Niladri Bije’ or the homecoming ceremony of 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 in local Odia dialect as ‘Pahandi’.

The holy siblings, who had gone to their ‘Janma Vedi’ or birth place in Gundicha Temple, around 3 km away from the Jagannath Temple, on a nine-day sojourn on June 27 this year, will finally enter the 12th-century shrine on Tuesday, popularly known as the ‘Niladri Bije’ ceremony.

As an interesting part of this Niladri Bije ritual, an angry goddess Laxmi closes the main door of the shrine, refusing to allow Lord Jagannath to enter inside the temple.

Later, Lord Jagannath pacifies Goddess Laxmi’s anger by offering her Rasagola to get entry into the temple.

With this interesting part of the Niladri Bije ritual, the annual Rath Yatra of the holy siblings comes 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 almanack.

Meanwhile, ‘Rasagola Divas’ was celebrated throughout Odisha on Tuesday. The ‘Rasagola Divas’ is observed annually on the occasion of ‘Niladri Bije’ to commemorate the centuries-old tradition of offering the sweet dessert to Goddess Laxmi during this significant ritual.

It is pertinent here to mention that following the row over the origin of Rasagola, the state of Odisha declared ‘Niladri Bije’ as Rasagolla Divas in 2015 and has been celebrating “Rasagola Divas” since July 30, 2015.

Scholars on Jagannath cult and traditions claim that the sweet is mentioned as “Rasagola” in the 15th-century Odia text, Jagamohana Ramayana of famous poet and devotee Balaram Das.

–IANS

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