lakhs of Kartik Brata observers witnessed Suna Vesha, called Rajrajeswar Vesha, of lord Jagannath in the sanctum sanctorum of Sri Jagannath temple on Sunday.
The devotees remained awake the previous night and rushed to the sea for a bath. They carried the Tulsi tree along with them and worshiped it after taking bath. They too offered prayers to the rising sun, while taking the holy dip. They dispatched tinny boats in the sea to mark the day with the glorious sea trade tradition of the State before returning to the Jagannath temple for offering prayers.
The temple administration had made elaborate arrangements to facilitate a large number of devotees to have darshan of the deities in the temple. The temple servitors dressed the deities lord Jagannath and His siblings in pure gold ornaments called Rajrajeswar Vesha or Suna Vesha. During the last five days of the Kartik month called Panchuka, the deities get dressed in five different Veshas every day with Suna Vesha being worn on the last day.
Over 40 platoons of police personnel and 200 officers of various ranks were deployed to ensure smooth conduct of the ritual. SP Anup Kumar Sahu, District Magistrate NK Nayak and the temple officials were present.