Puri, July 22: With just a day remaining for the sacred Bahuda Yatra, preparations are in full swing at the Mausi Maa Temple, where the traditional Poda Pitha offered to Lord Jagannath is being prepared.

According to centuries-old tradition, as Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra return to the Shree Jagannath Temple from the Gundicha Temple during Bahuda Yatra, the deities halt at the Mausi Maa Temple. There, Lord Jagannath is offered the famous Poda Pitha, a delicacy lovingly prepared by his divine aunt (Mausi Maa).

The temple's chief priest, Biswanath Mishra, has begun the preparation of the sacred offering. The unique recipe includes wheat flour, chhena (cottage cheese), sugar, pistachios, cardamom, cloves, and pure desi ghee, which are blended into a rich mixture. The dough is then shaped into a traditional Poda Pitha and slowly baked in a clay oven, allowing it to cook evenly and develop its distinctive flavour and texture.

On the day of Bahuda Yatra, Lord Jagannath symbolically accepts the Poda Pitha from Mausi Maa before continuing His journey back to the Shree Jagannath Temple.

The offering of Poda Pitha is one of the most cherished rituals of the Rath Yatra festival, symbolising the warmth, affection, and hospitality of a maternal aunt towards her nephew, making it a unique and emotionally significant tradition in Jagannath culture.