[ Photo: Sampradaya Sun ]

The Jagannath Temple witnesses Suna Besha on four other occasions in the year—Dussehra, Kartika Purnima, Pausa Purnima and Dola Purnima. While those four rituals are observed inside the temple, the Suna Besha performed at the end of Bahuda Yatra is celebrated on chariots outside the temple.

Suna Besha is said to have been introduced during the era of King Kapilendra Deb in 1460 A.D. "He had conquered another King and brought huge quantities of gold on 16 elephants to Puri. He donated all the gold to the Jagannath Temple," said Jagannath Swain Mohapatra, a shrine servitor.

[ Photo: Sampradaya Sun ]

Flanked by a posse of armed policemen, at least twenty-five bhandara mekap priests (treasury keepers) brought the required gold from the temple's treasury onto the chariots around 3.30 pm. Sources said during the reign of Kapilendra Deb, the Deities used to wear gold of nearly 138 designs. But these days, They are donning only twenty or thirty types of designs.

Asked whether all the types of gold designs that were prevalent in the past, are still intact, temple's spokesperson Laxmidhar Pujapanda said "Almost all of them are intact. Whenever required, we do repairing." "Raw gold donated by pilgrims is used to repair the ornaments of deities," Pujapanda said.

[ Photo: Sampradaya Sun ]

Buoyed by improved road connectivity and introduction of special trains by East Coast Railway, pilgrims from far and wide set their feet in the temple town. Security was tightened around the chariots to protect the gold-clad Deities. Holding AK-47 and machine guns in hands, the armed security personnel occupied vantage locations around the chariots. Around 100 sharpshooters stood guard on rooftops around the chariots, parked right in front Jagannath temple.

"Even though history has not witnessed any attack on the chariots during Suna Besha, we took adequate security arrangements to avoid any untoward incident," said Puri SP, Sarthak Sarangi.

[ Photo: Sampradaya Sun ]