Finance
Hundreds of devotees flocked to the Alarnath Temple in Brahmagiri in Odisha’s Puri district on Monday, as Lord Jagannath and his siblings Devi Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra remained hidden in the Srimandir following the Mana Snana rite on Debasnana Purnima on Sunday.
According to legend, the Trinity goes into slumber for a week – ‘anasara’ or ‘Anavasara’ – after becoming ill following the bath rite with 108 pitchers of holy water. During this time, people flock to Alarnath Temple to seek the blessings of the deities.
The Alarnath temple administration has made elaborate arrangements for the presiding deity’s darshan, and a line of devotees has formed outside the temple since early Monday morning. Pilgrims come here not only to see the presiding deity, but also for the famous khiri (rice porridge) here.
The Alarnath Temple’s presiding deity is a four-armed standing Vishnu constructed of black chlorite.
It is believed that Prabhu Chaitanya visited the Alarnath temple after missing the view of Lord Jagannath in Puri during ‘anasara’.
According to mythology, the temple was established by Rajasthan’s Alwar kings, hence the name Alwarnath, which eventually became Alarnath.
During the ‘Anasara’ period, the patta paintings known as ‘Anavasara patti’ depicting Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Devi Subhadra are worshiped in the 12th-century shrine.
