As the devotees’ favourite festival, Rath Yatra is coming to an end, the day of Adhara Pana is the last day when the holy trinity is worshipped on the Rath before moving to Srimandira. Lord Jagannath and his siblings – Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra will be offered a sweet drink called Adhara Pana in Puri.
Adhara Pana: The sweet refreshing offering after the tiring journey
After Suna Besha, the Adhara Pana was celebrated today. Due to the COVID-19 induced restrictions, the famous ritual of the deities will be performed sans devotees.
People will have to watch the event from home through a live telecast. The niti continued till 8 pm today. You can watch the video on the link below:
Adhara Pana is a famous ritual of offering Pana, a special drink prepared with milk, banana, cheese, aromatic spices and water. As per the age-old practice, the ritual is held on the chariots during the last day of the deities’ journey.
The arrangements
Raghab Das Mutt and Shree JagannathTemple Administration (SJTA) make arrangements for all the ingredients needed for the preparation of the special drink. The drink gets filled in nine earthen pots and each of the deities was offered three pots each on their respective chariot.
The priests offer the drink to the deities by performing ‘Sodosha Upachara Pooja’.
Also Read: Suna Besha 2021: The Holy Trinity of Puri get the golden look
Why are the pots smashed after Adhara Pana?
Once the Puja gets over the earthen pots are broken by the servitors and the Pana spreads all over the chariot.
It is believed that several evil spirits, ghostly bodies and dissatisfied souls trail the deities during the Rath.
As per the ritual, the Adhara Pana is not for the devotees and servitors but it is only for Parsva Devatas to guard the chariots during Ratha Yatra.
Thereafter the pots are smashed on the chariots purposefully because the drink is not for the consumption by the devotees and also to ensure that all these invisible forces and Parsva Devatas consume the Adhara Pana and get satisfied.
After the AdharaPana rituals, ‘Niladri Bije’, the return of the deities to Srimandir’s Ratna Singhasana, will be held tomorrow to mark the conclusion of the world-famous Ratha Jatra festival.
Written by: Aankur Pradhan
