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 at 3 AM 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.
The Pahili Bhoga ritual will culminate on January 13, a day before Makar Sankranti. Till then, the main entrance of Srimandir will be opened at 3 AM and closed in the evening everyday.
It is pertinent to mention here that thousands of devotees throng the centuries-old temple to have darshan of the deities and get the Pahili Bhoga on Dhanu Sankranti every year. This time, the ritual was held in the absence of devotees due to COVID-19 guidelines.
However, the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) has recently recommended the Odisha Government to reopen the temple on December 23. It has urged the Government to reopen the temple for residents of Puri till December 31 evening on priority basis. The SJTA has decided to keep the temple closed on January 1 and 2 in apprehension of influx of devotees to the pilgrim town and again open it for all devotees from January 3 onwards.