Puri, July 17: Amid the chants of Jai Jagannath and mantras, the holy trinity, Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra, were adorned with gold ornaments on the occasion of ‘Suna Besha’ today leaving the devotees soaked in devotion on the Grand Road in Puri.
‘Suna Besa’, also known as Raja Besha or Rajarajeshwara Besha, is one of the ceremonies of Rath Yatra which falls on ‘Ashadha Shukla Ekadashi Tithi’ (11th bright fortnight of Odia month Asadha) every year.
The deities were adorned with beautifully carved gold jewellery weighing nearly 208 kg, which took more than an hour for the servitors to decorate the deities.
Around 15 lakh devotees, who thronged the Grand Road for the ‘Suna Besa’, could view the adorned deities on the majestic chariots until 11 pm.
Puri district Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain assured that arrangements had been made to facilitate smooth darshan for the massive crowd, with the golden attires being removed around 11 pm.
Approximately 5,700 police personnel were deployed in Puri to maintain law and order situation. Additionally, the East Coast Railways operated 46 special trains to accommodate the influx of devotees.
