Today, all roads will lead to Puri as over 15 lakh devotees are expected to throng the Grand Road to witness the ‘Suna Besha’ of the Holy Trinity on their respective chariots.
Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra will glitter in gold ornaments. The ritual is called ‘Suna Besha’. It is also known as ‘Rajarajeshwara Besha’. This is observed on the day after the deities’ return from Gundicha temple, on Ashadha Shukla Ekadasi Tithi.
This year, in view of the repair of Ratna Bhandar and the inventory of valuables, the ornaments will be brought from the temporary Ratna Bhandar.
After the completion of the rituals in the morning, the deities will be seen adorned with gold jewellery and precious stones in the afternoon.
“It is the pride of the four and a half crore people of Odisha. Not only they but also the people of the entire world will witness the Lord donning ornaments. We will live happily when He lives happily,” said Jagannath Swain Mohapatra, Chief Badagrahi of Lord Jagannath.
The devotees will see Lord Balabhadra wearing ‘Shreepayar’, ‘Shreebhuja’ ‘Kirita’, ‘Odiani’, ‘Kundal’, ‘Chandasurya’ and different chains. Similarly, Devi Subhadra will adorn ‘Kirita’, ‘Odiani’, ‘Chandrasurya’, ‘Kana;, ‘Adakani’, ‘Kadambamali’, ‘Sebatimali’, and two ‘Tagadis’.
Like His elder brother, Lord Jagannath will glitter with ‘Shreepayar’, ‘Shreebhuja’ ‘Kirita’, ‘Odiani’, ‘Kundal’, ‘Chandasurya’ and different chains.
This year, servitors have been asked not to stand in front of the deities so that people below can have a better view of the ‘Suna Besha’ of the deities.
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“We are going to observe the ‘Suna Besha’ as per the guidelines. All the nijogs are extending their helping hands to us,” said Arabinda Padhee, Chief Administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration.
“It has been discussed with the servitors to be present on the chariots so that they would maintain discipline. Devotees’ use of mobile phones below the chariots creates problems in crowd control. So we will try to ensure devotees should move ahead after having darshan of the deities,” said Sidharth Shankar Swain, Collector, Puri.
Traffic & Parking Arrangements for Suna Besha
As it is expected that over 15 lakh devotees will congregate to witness ‘Suna Besha’, a special parking system is also in place.
Special parking for four-wheelers
Those coming from the Bhubaneswar side will park their vehicles in the Sanskrit University compound. People coming from the Brahmagiri side will park their vehicles at Jagannath Ballabh, Yatrika Palace and Nolia Field. For those coming from the Konark side, parking space has been earmarked at Indoor Stadium, ITI and Helipad.
For tourist and regular buses coming from the Bhubaneswar side will park at Malatipatapur and Talabania respectively. Buses coming from the Konark side will park at Nagapatana and Talabania and buses coming from the Brahmagiri side will park near Flourish India.
Similarly, bikers coming from Bhubaneswar and Konark sides will park their bikes at Jagannath Ballabh, Jail Road and Matitota Parking. If they come from the Konark side, they will park at Blue Flag Beach, Hotel Neelachal Ashok and at the backside of the Holiday Resort.
They will go by the side of Nandighosa chariot in one way and go out by the side of Taladhwaja chariot after having darshan of the deities in an order of Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra.
“The funnel we are preparing will have evacuation points. Officers will be deployed at important evacuation points. There will also be deployment medical team and fire team with other ancillary arrangements,” informed Pinak Mishra, SP, Puri.
“This year, we have devised a system to divert the traffic before jam. We implemented the Dynamic Diversion Tactic during the Rath Yatra and Bahuda Yatra. The same will also be implemented for ‘Suna Besha’,” said Dayal Gangwar, ADG.