Puri: Servitors today visited Gajapati Dibya Singh Deb with the news that fever of the lords has receded. Along with tokens of blessings from Lord Jagannath, the servitors carried dried sandalwood flakes from Lord Jagannath’s body along with the deity’s ‘patta’ clothes on a vast silver plate. The deities are getting ready for their trip during Rath Yatra on Sunday.
Receiving this news of recovery of the deities, the Gajapati conducted the ‘saribandha’ rituals for servitors in which special pieces of cloth are tied around the heads of servitors to show them respect for their dedication to the deities. During the meeting, the ‘datitapatis’ and chief servitors discussed the health of the lords and their treatment, with the Gajapati.
On the occasion of 'saribandha' the new set of servitors of the younger generation are formally inducted into the respective services of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra with the formal rituals of the Gajapati tying the sacred cloth on their head.
“Ever since we begun the treatment of deities in Anasara, we have avoided any worship rituals that include loud sounds of music or prayers. Even the food offered to Lord Jagannath and His siblings during this hiberanation period. Herbal food items like the dasamula prepared by the vaidya using barks and roots of medicinal plants were offered. Similarly, the medicinal phuluri oil was massaged on to the deities,” said Jagannath Swain Mohapatra, the chief servitor of lord Jagannath. “Abada, the special rice cooked in the temple, has not been served since the last week,” he added.
With the continuous care and treatment of the servitors, the deities are slowly recovering. Today after the fever receded, the deities were applied sandalwood paste.