Devotees flock Alarnath shrine as Puri deities fall sick

Puri: With the sibling deities of Puri Sri Jagannath temple getting into the 'anasara ghara' falling sick, the devotees wishing to have a darshan of the Trinity are heading to Alarnath temple in Brahmagiri. As per beliefs, Lord Jagannath manifests in the form of Lord Alarnath for 15 days following Deba Snana Purnima.

Elaborate measures have been undertaken by the district administration to ensure smooth darshan of Lord Alarnath as every year thousands of devotees throng the shrine during this period.

A devotee from Bhanjanagar visiting the Brahmagiri shrine said, “Due to the favourable climate today, I paid respect to Lord Alarnath without much trouble. Though earlier I had visited the Sri Jagannath temple several times, this year for the first time I got chance to come here.”

Another devotee stated, “We have been visiting the shrine since last year and are quite happy with the arrangements put in place by the administration for darshan.”

As per the belief, the Lord Jagannath and siblings get fever following the bathing ritual, Deba Snana Purnima, and remain in ‘Anabasara’ for 15 days and appear before public a day before the Rath Yatra.