With the three deities in Shreemandir getting treatment in Anasar Ghar, the annual Alarnath Yatra has commenced in Brahmagiri with much devotional fervour.

The festival will go on until the deities in the Jagannath Temple heal from their illness. After failing to view three divine siblings in the Shreemandir since the day of Snana Purnama, devotees are now queuing up in the Alarnath temple for the darshan of the lord. 

As per sources, around fifteen thousand devotees have paid obeisance at the Alarnath shrine in past three days with more than a lakh expected to visit in the rest of the festival.

A belief has it that devotees can get same results in making darshan of Lord Alarnath who miss a darshan of the deities in Jagannath Temple during Anasar period.

Even the offerings in the Alarnath shrine are believed to be very sacred like that of Jagannath Temple. The Kheeri bhog is famous here for being very fond to the Lord.

Though there is no documentary evidence on Lord Alarnath, however, researchers find the idol to be thousands years’ old with black granite Bishnu statue hailing from South India. The servitors engaged in the rituals are also the present generation of them, informed experts.

A myth has it that that also the Alambarnath Brahamin community from South India on way to the Jagannath temple had settled in Brahmagiri after missing the route to Puri. They established the idol in the shrine and worshipped as incarnation of Jagannath.

There is also a myth behind the famous Kheeri bhog of Alarnath. In old days, when a servitor fell ill, his minor son managed the rites of Alarnath. However, after offering the dishes, he used to return to house empty handed without taking the offerings. When his father asked about the offerings, the son said that Lord Alarnath ate them.

However, the father didn’t believe the incident and hence inquired about the truth by hiding behind the temple. During the Puja by his minor son, the father saw the lord himself was eating quickly the hot Kheeri from the plate.

Hence, a scar is located in the hand of Lord Alarnath today. An old belief is that when Alarnath took the hot kheeri quickly offered by the minor boy, the right hand succumbed to burn injury.