Rain Dampens Puri Lord's Suna Besha

BY: SUN STAFF CORRESPONDENT

The Deities' Gold Ornaments
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Photos: Sampradaya Sun

Jun 30, 2012 — JAGANNATHA PURI, ORISSA — A heavy cloudburst took the sheen off Suna Besha festival of the Deities of Jagannath Temple on Saturday. The heavens opened just a few minutes before of the start of the darshan of "gold-clad" Deities aboard Their chariots.

Thousands of pilgrims, who thronged from far-off regions were caught unprepared for the sudden downpour and went scurrying for cover on the open Grand Road, facing 12th century shrine. The Grand Road, including the place where chariots were parked became water-logged.

The Suna Besha darshan, which was scheduled to run from 5 pm till 10 pm, could not get underway till 6:45 pm due to rain. The temple body was planning to extend the wrap-up time of darshan from 10 pm to 11.30 pm because of the rain-delayed start.

"We would oversee the situation and continue the darshan till late night if more people turn up. Had the rain hit in between the darshan period, it might have triggered stampede-like situation," a temple officer said.

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As per tradition, the Deities donned huge quantities of gold on Their glorious bodies. The police were on the line to maintain smooth conduct of the festival, in view of reported terror threats last week. Holding AK-47s and machine guns in hand, the armed security personnel besieged the chariots. With binoculars, they were keeping a vigilant eye on suspicious characters amid a milling crowd. Around 100 sharp shooters stood guard on rooftops around the chariots, parked right in front Jagannath Temple.

For the first time, police installed a jammer to deactivate any mobile communication in the close vicinity of the chariots and Jagannath Temple. "Mobile phone networks were jammed in 300 meter radius around the temple. We took the precaution as most of the subversive groups trigger violence through mobile phones," said Puri SP Anup Kumar Sahoo. Pilgrims and residents around the temple faced difficulty in using cell phones from afternoon till night.

"Apart from measures to prevent terror strikes, we were also alert to protect the huge quantities of gold of the Deities," Sahoo said.

Suna besha is believed to have been introduced during the era of King Kapilendra Deb in 1460 A.D. During Suna besha, the Deities are dressed with nearly 208 kg (2 quintal 8 kg) gold on Their bodies, a temple source said.

Suna Besha is observed at Jagannatha Temple on four other occasions: Dussehra, Kartika Purnima, Pausa Purnima and Dola Purnima. But those four yearly occasions are observed inside the temple only, whereas this Suna Besha is celebrated on chariots outside the temple.

"During the reign of Kapilendra Deb, the Deities used to wear gold of nearly 138 designs. But these days, the Deities are donning only twenty or thirty types of designs," the temple officer said.

Asked whether all the types of gold designs that were prevalent in the past are still intact, he said: "Almost all of them are intact. Whenever required, we do repairing. Raw gold donated by pilgrims is used to repair the ornaments of Deities."

The shrine officials refused to divulge the exact quantity and value of gold stored in temple. The Jagannath Temple administration in 1978 had made a list of the ornaments stored in the temple. Then it was found that around 454 numbers of gold articles (read designs) weighing around 12,830 bharis and nearly 293 silver articles weighing around 22,149 bharis were found stored inside the temple, sources said.

In 2008, the temple body had planned to reassess Their Lordships' movable wealth, but the process was stalled amid vehement protest from priests.