Puri,News Today ,27th October 2020: Lord Jagannatha and his sibling deities Balabhadra and Subhadra will be adorned with Radha Damodara Besa (attire) in the Srimandir here on Tuesday marking the beginning of special rituals for the holy month of Kartika.However the devotees will be deprived to have a darshan of the Lord in this unique attire as Covid-19 guidelines are in place.During this period a large number of devotees especially widows (Habishialis) used to visit Puri to serve Lord and carry out their Kartika Brata. But this year they are saddened as they will not be able to observe the Brata in the Srimandir due to the pandemic protocol. It is worth mentioning that Kartika is the holiest of all the months in the Hindu lunar calendar, which includes many religious events.
According to Hindus, someone who undertakes Kartika Brata gets happiness in life because this is the most awaited months for supreme Gods Lord Bishnu and Lord Shiva. Meanwhile, the ‘Besha Anukula’ ceremony that marks the beginning of the preparations for the rare ‘Nagarjuna Besha’ of Lord Jagannath, Blabhadra and Subhadra was held on Monday.
Beshasilpis, the artisans in-charge of designing the special costumes of the Lords began the crafting of the attire after the initiation ceremony amidst spiritual ambience. Various types of raw materials like Santara Patta, thermocol and cane have been procured for the designing exercise.