Puri: During Ratha Yatra, Lord Jagannath comes out on a divine outing with his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra along with his divine weapon Sudarshan, leaving behind his wife Mahalaxmi.
Following this, the Goddess expresses her anger for the Lord and she proceeds to the Gundicha temple. There, Goddess Laxmi also threatens the Lord to come back to the temple at the earliest.
In order to bring the Lord under subjection by mesmerizing him and to bring him back from the Gundicha Temple, Goddess Bimala gives “Mohachurna” (a herb in powder form to attract her husband) to Mahalaxmi.
After taking the advice from Goddess Bimala, Goddess Mahalakshmi goes on her journey to the Gundicha temple on the fifth day of the car festival and, it subsequently marks the Hera Panchami ritual at the Gundicha temple.
After getting the “Mohachurna”, to make her pleased, the Lord tries to make Mahalaxmi pleased by offering her a garland of consent (Agyan Mala) through the Pati Mohapatra servitor.
Then Mahalaxmi returns to the main temple through the Nakachana gate. In a unique ritual, the Goddess orders one of her attendants to damage a part of the Nandighosa chariot.
The rituals of Hera Panchami is an important function of Srimandir and it finds mention in Skanda Purana. According to the history of the Temple, this festival was started during the time of King Kapilendra Deba.
Before his reign, the Hera Panchami function was being observed in a symbolic way with the recitation of Mantras. As stated in Madala Panji, Raja Kapilendra Deba substituted this practice with the introduction of an idol of Mahalaxmi made of gold and making the celebration more realistic.
