Srimandir Gears Up For Gamha Purnima Celebration, Devi Subhadra To Tie Rakhis To Her Brothers

Puri: Gamha Purnima is the birthday of Lord Balabhada and this day is marked as Raksha Bandhan. Devi Subhadra ties Rakhi to her brothers–Lord Jagannath and Lord Balabhadra.

Like other festivals, it also involves a number of rituals in Srimandir, and the ‘rakhis’ for Lord Jagannath and Lord Balabhadra are prepared through an elaborate procedure.

The preparation of rakhis along with 54 ‘Guamala’ (garland of areca nuts) were prepared by Patara Bisoyi servitors of the temple.

The temple administration provides ‘Basunga Pata’ (cloth). Then Basunga Pata is dipped in red, green, purple, and yellow colours. The servitors then make four-layered Rakhis.

While the purple-blue colour combination is for Lord Balabhadra, the yellow and red colour Rakhi is for Lord Jagannath.

According to mythology, Lord Balabhadra, who is considered the lord of farmers, was born on the day of Gamha Purnima. On this day, special rituals involving Lord Balabhadra are also performed in the temple.