After the ceremonial bath, Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra are now down with fever and their 15-day-long quarantine period has begun.
As during this period, the deities are kept away from the public view, devotees have started thronging Alarnath temple at Brahmagiri, about 25 kilometres away from Puri, to have a darshan of lord Alarnath, who is believed to be the incarnation of Lord Jagannath.
It is believed that the devotees can avail the same blessings and fortune of Lord Jagannath darshan by having the darshan of Lord Alarnath.
During the Holy Trinity’s 15-day-long quarantine period, devotees visiting Alarnath temple also get ‘Mahaprasad’ at the ‘Ananda Bazaar’ here like the one they get in Srimandir in Puri.
It is worth mentioning that, the same amount of prasad offered to Lord Jagannath during normal days is offered to Lord Alarnath. Apart from this, Lord Alarnath’s favourite pudding ‘kheer’ is also available here. While ‘kheer’ is available for around the year at the temple’s ‘Ananda Bazaar’, the demand for the item goes up significantly during this ‘Anasara’ period as a huge number of devotees visit the temple during this period.
The Puri district administration has made elaborate arrangements for devotees’ hassle-free darshan of Lord Alarnath.
While barricades have been put up, six platoons of police forces along with senior officers have been deployed to maintain law and order.