Puri: The Niladri Bije rituals of the holy Trinity – Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra will be held in pilgrim city Puri today.
The deities will enter into the sanctum sanctorum of Srimandir in a ceremonial Pahandi procession in the evening.
The Niladri Bije rituals of Lord Jagannath has been advanced in view of a partial lunar eclipse that will grace the Indian skies at various places including Odisha on July 17.
After morning rituals are conducted for the holy sibling deities, other rituals like Sandhya Alati, Sandhya Dhupa, Charmala Bandha, Singhasana Majana, and Puspanjali, the deities will be then taken inside the Srimandir in a single procession or Goti Pahandi.
Lord Jagannath will enter into the shrine after offering Rasagola to Goddess Lakshmi as part of appeasement for not taking Her to Gundicha Temple with Him during Rath Yatra.
The procession for Niladri Bije will start at 4 pm, said the Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA).
The rituals at temples including Srimandir will be suspended from 4.31 pm on July 16 in view of the lunar eclipse. However, the daily rituals of the Lords will be held 8 hours before the eclipse.
As per the Hindu almanac, cooking and intake of food will be restricted after 4.31 pm on July 16 till end of the eclipse. The food can be cooked and temple rituals will resume after 4.30 am on July 17.