Puri, Dec 16 : The famous “Pahili bhog” (special sweet cakes made of freshly harvested crops) was offered to the lord Jagannath and his siblings Balabhadra sister Subhadra inside the sanctum sanctorum of Sri Jagannath temple on Saturday on Dhanu Sankranti day by the servitors.
This offering will continue for a month and end on Makar Sankranti.
The temple door was opened at 2 am in the wee hours, and the daily nitees, beginning with Mangal Arati, Abakash, Mailum, Rosahoma, and Surya Puja, were completed.
Then Pahili bhog, a set of sweet cakes like Bada Bara. Kakera, bada jhilli, Bada badi, arisha, mugei, Sana jhili, sana amalu, nali, endury, ladu, gaja, khairachula, manda, chudapua, and kantei prepared from grams and wheat were offered.
Besides Pahili bhog, Dhanu Muan, provided by Bada Odia Mutt, was also offered to the Trinity.
The devotees, in large numbers, buy Pahili bhog and Dhanu muan Mahaprasad and feast on them.
The religious texts say in Dwapar yuga, Mata Yashoda served these sweet cakes to her sons Rama and Krishna for a month. This ritual is being enacted in the temple, considering Lord Jagannath as Krushna and Balabhadra as Balaram.
The temple administration has rescheduled and advanced the timing of daily nitees of the deities for a month.