Mysore/Mysuru: The Car Festival of Bhagavan Vishnu Avatar Lord Jagannath will be celebrated for the first time in Mysuru at Vidyaranyapuram where the Puri Jagannath Temple has been built by Puri Jagannath Cultural and Welfare Trust, Mysuru.

The temple is located off H.D. Kote Road, opposite Friendly Motors Service Centre. The temple, a first of its kind in Mysuru, was established on Aug. 31, 2021 and so far, hundreds of devotees have visited the Temple. There are more than 5,000 Odias staying in Mysuru and apart from Odias, there are many other regular visitors to the Temple. 

As per the specifications and religious significance, the idols of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, Subhadra and Sudarshana have been set up along with other deities like Lord Shiva, Parvathi, Ganapathi, Nandi, Mahalakshmi, Anjaneya, Navagrahas, Vamana, Laxmi Narasimha, Varaha and Garuda.

The wooden sculptures of Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath (Holy Trinity) have been carved out of sacred Neem tree as per Odia tradition.

According to Ghanashyam Pradhan, Managing Trustee, Puri Jagannath Cultural and Welfare Trust, the last darshan of Lord Jagannath was on June 14 this year on the ‘Deva Snana’ Purninia Day. On this day the deities had their annual bath.

As per the belief and tradition, after the ‘Deva Snana,’ the Gods (Jagannath, Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Sudarshan) were infected with cold and were put under isolation (quarantine) in a dark room (Anasaraghar) for 15 days.

The Gods will come out of ‘Anasaraghar’ on June 30 and give ‘Navajoubana Darshana’ to the devotees followed by ‘Rathjatra’ the next day on July 1. All the rituals at the temple are performed like they are performed at the Lord Jagannath Temple at Puri, in Odisha.

After the rituals, the Lord’s chariot will be pulled with the help of thick ropes by the devotees at 12 noon.  The chariot is being readied in the Temple premises and expert chariot makers have been put on the job.

Since he is Jagannath — the Lord of the Universe — he wishes to come outside the Temple only once a year and give darshan and blessings to the devotees who cannot enter the Temple for eight days.

Devotees will be awaiting their beloved Lord sitting outside his abode. ‘Bahuda Jatra’, the return journey will be celebrated on July 9 and ‘Suna Besha’ ritual will be done on the chariot on July 10 followed by ‘Adhar Panna’ (offering of Sarvat) to the deities.

Finally, the deities will enter the Temple (‘Neeladri Bije’) on July 12. The normal puja, aarti and darshan of deities will continue as usual.

For further details, contact, Mob: 63601-83121.