Rath Yatra: Adhara Pana ritual of deities concludes in Puri

Puri: The rituals of offering Adhara Pana to the deities on chariots concluded in Puri. A day after ‘Sunabesha’, Lord Jagannath and his siblings are offered the Adhara Pana, a sweet drink. The event is conducted on the eve of Niladri Bije (return of deities to sanctum sanctorum) scheduled tomorrow.

The rich drink is generally made up of an assortment of milk, banana, cheese, black pepper, nutmeg, camphor and other ingredients and filled in nine large size open earthen barrels, three for each deity. After the Sodosha Upachar Pooja the drink was offered to the deities following which the barrels were broken on the chariots.

Adhara Pana is considered pious and as per the ritual it is offered to the Trinity first and then spilled so that all bad ‘spirits’ who trail the Lords during their nine-day long Rath Yatra could attain salvation or ‘Mokshya’ by having this drink.

The deities would remain on the chariots and enter the sanctum sanctorum on Thursday night in the ceremonial ‘Goti Pahandi’.