Puri: The Pahili Bhoga ritual of Lord Jagannath and his divine siblings was held at Srimandir here on the auspicious occasion of Dhanu Sankranti today.
The main door of the sanctum sanctorum was opened early in the morning today for conduct of the special ritual, following which daily rituals like Mangala Arati, Rosha Homa, Mailama, Tadapa Lagi and Abakasha were performed. Later, Pahili Bhoga was offered to the deities.
Pahili Bhog:
Devotees flock to Jagannath Temple in Puri to partake ‘Pahili Bhog’ offered to the sibling deities on Dhanu Sankranti. This offering would continue for a month till Makar Sankranti.
According to the temple tradition, during this month, Mahalakshmi, the consort of Lord Jagannath visits her father’s house and the ‘bhog’ is prepared by the mother of the deities.
She prepares delicious cakes made of cheese, grams and other sweetmeats every day starting from Dhanu Sankranti to Makar Sankranti.
The Shree Jagannatha Temple Administration (SJTA) revised the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for devotees visiting the Shree Jagannatha Temple, Puri. The new SOPs came into effect from December 16, 2021.
The Shree Jagannatha Temple will remain closed December 31, 2021 and January 1, 2022 for devotees to pay obeisance to the deities. The decision has been taken to avoid any spike in transmission of Covid-19 due to possible large gathering on these two days.
