The fifth annual Rasagola Dibas was celebrated in the State on Monday which coincided with the Niladri Bije festival of Lord Jagannath and his siblings in Puri.
The day, which had started in the year 2015, is observed to reaffirm the birth of the famous sweet in Odisha and cherish its link to the Jagannath culture.
The centuries-old Rasagola has its origin in the Odia tradition as evident from the Niladri Bije ritual of Lord Jagannath at the end of His Rath Yatra in which the Lord offers the sweet to His consort Mahalakshmi to pacify her anger after His return to his temple following a nine-day vacation without her.
To commemorate the Rasagola Dibas, eminent sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik created a sculpture on the Puri sea beach on the day.
Notably, experts have claimed reference of Rasagola in the Dandi Ramayana, an Odia adaptation of the Valmiki Ramayana by sage poet Balaram Das, the eldest of the Panchasakha in the 15th century.
Besides, the Dandi Ramayana has been featured in World e-Book of 1921 published by the Calcutta University which has mention of Rasagola’s association with traditions associated with Lord Jagannath.