Bhubaneswar: The authorities of Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s Puri city will arrange a new set of ornaments for the ‘Suna Besha’ ritual of Lord Jagannath and his siblings Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra.

The Jagannath Temple Managing Committee, the apex decision making body for the 12^th century shrine, approved a proposal in this regard on Saturday.

“The Jagannath Temple Managing Committee has approved a proposal for making a new set of ornaments for the Suna Besha ritual of the presiding deities. The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) will make the ornaments from its own resources. We have also planned to seek donations from interested individuals and organisations in this regard,” said Jagannath temple chief administrator Arabinda Kumar Padhee.

According to the SJTA chief, the temple officials have fairly good knowledge about the existing ornaments of the three deities. So, the authorities will not face any problem while arranging new set of jewellery for Lord Jagannath and his siblings.

“We got detailed information regarding the weight and design of the existing ornaments of the deities during the inventory of the valuables stored at the Ratna Bhandar (temple treasury) recently. We will refer to that information while making the new set of jewellery,” Padhee added.

According to the SJTA chief, the temple authorities will consult the servitors of the shrine as well as other stake holders to finalise the guidelines for the making of the new ornaments.

“A technical committee will be constituted to oversee the entire process. It will select experienced as well as skilled jewellers to make the new set of ornaments for the deities. The whole process will be carried out in a transparent manner,” said the SJTA chief.

Details about ‘Suna Besha’ ritual  

As per the tradition, Suna Besha ritual of the deities is conducted five times in a year. The deities are adorned with the Golden Attire four times in a year inside the sanctum sanctorum of Srimandir while the ritual is held once on the chariots during the annual Ratha Jatra.

 Servitors of the shrine decorate the deities with gold ornaments including Sri Hasta (golden hand), Sri Payar (golden feet), Sri Mukuta (golden crown), Sri Mayur Chandrika (golden peacock feather), Sri Kundal (golden earring), Sri Rahurekha (golden aura) and Sri Mala (gold necklace) as part of the Suna Besha ritual.

It is believed that Suna Besha ritual of the deities was introduced during the reign of Gajapati King Kapilendra Deb in 1460. Kapilendra Deb had donated huge quantities of gold and silver ornaments to Srimandir after conquering several kingdoms during his rule in Odisha.