Puri: A day after Suna Besha, the deities of Puri Srimandir- Lord Balabhadra, Goddess Subhadra and Lord Jagannath were offered special drinks during the ‘Adhara Pana’ritual on Friday.
The Adhara Pana (special drink) is offered to the Holy Trinity to alleviate their tiredness after their sojourn to Gundicha temple and journey back to the Srimandir during the 9-day Rath Yatra. Though the ritual draws lakhs of devotees to the pilgrim town, this year it was observed without the presence of devotees in accordance to the Supreme Court order in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As per servitors, the special drink is a concoction of various ingredients including cheese, sugar, banana, camphor, nuts and black pepper among others. Several herbal plant extracts including holy basil are also added.
The beverage is offered to the sibling deities in gigantic cylindrical earthen pots. Odia Mutt, Raghab Das Mutt and Srimandir administration arrange the ingredients required for preparation of the special drink. The water used to prepare the drink is collected by Pania Apat servitors from a well on the premises of Chhauni mutt near the Singhadwara.
After the Adhara Pana rituals, Niladri Bije, the return of the deities to Srimandir’s Ratna Singhasana, will be held tomorrow to mark the conclusion of the nearly two-week long festival.
