Hooghly, 14 July (H.S.): The historic Mahesh Jagannath Temple in West Bengal's Hooghly district celebrated the Nabajouban Utsav (Festival of Renewed Youth) of Lord Jagannath with great religious fervour on Tuesday, a day ahead of the annual Rath Yatra.

According to tradition, Lord Jagannath falls ill with fever after the ceremonial Snana Yatra and remains out of public view for 15 days during the Anasara period. His first public appearance after recovery is celebrated as the Nabajouban Utsav.

On the occasion, 56 varieties of food offerings (Chhappan Bhog) were presented to the deities. Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra were adorned with silver hands, gold crowns, necklaces and other ornaments before being dressed in their royal attire (Raja Besha).

The temple's main gate and sanctum were opened to devotees at around 7 a.m., drawing thousands of worshippers. According to tradition, the Lord sets out on His annual Rath Yatra to His aunt's house a day after the Nabajouban Utsav.

Several dignitaries, including West Bengal Food Minister Bhaskar Bhattacharya, Barrackpore MLA Kaustav Bagchi, and Chandannagar MLA Dipanjan Guha, visited the temple to offer prayers.

Chief servitor Piyal Adhikari said the Nabajouban Utsav is one of the most significant festivals of the Mahesh temple. He said the deities were decorated with floral garlands, gold crowns and ornaments after the completion of the Anasara rituals. A special abhishek, havan and other religious ceremonies were also performed, while devotees offered traditional sweets, including Gutka Sandesh and Bala Sandesh, to the deities.

Speaking on the occasion, MLA Kaustav Bagchi described the Mahesh Jagannath Temple as a historic centre of faith and said the state government was giving greater importance to the preservation and promotion of Sanatan traditions and Hindu religious festivals.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey