Devotee donates over 3 kg silver, 4 kg gold to Puri Jagannath Temple

Bhubaneswar, Feb 17: A devotee of Lord Jagannath has donated over 4 kg gold and 3 kg silver jewellery for the trinity - Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath, on the occasion of Shree Panchami, Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) said.

A representative of the devotee met the SJTA Chief Administrator Krishan Kumar and handed over the precious ornaments at the temple office in presence of some management committee members and other officials on Tuesday.

"The devotee has requested not to reveal his identity as he does not want publicity for the donation," Kumar said. The ornaments are made up of 4.858 kg of gold and 3.867 kg of silver, sources said, adding that the ornaments specially designed for the trinity will be used on special pujas.

The gold jewellery included 'Jhoba' (middle part of the idol), 'Srimukha' (face) and 'Padma' (lotus) for three deities of the 12th century shrine. A total of 40 'Shree Mukha Padma' and two 'Jhobaa' ornaments is donated for Lord Balabhadra, while 53 'Shree Mukha Padma' and two 'Jhobaa' for Lord Jagannatha and two 'Tadaki' and two 'Jhobaa' for Devi Subhadra were donated to the temple.

After receipt of the ornaments, these were kept at the temple office's treasury amid tight security. The temple administration will hand over the jewellery to the 'Bhandara Mekapa' (temple treasurer) on Wednesday. Earlier, a devotee from Bhubaneswar donated 'Surjya' (Sun) and 'Chandra' (Moon) ornaments to the deities of the Srimandir.

On January 10, a devotee had donated gold ornaments weighing over 300 gm to the deities. Earlier, another devotee had pledged to donate 21 kg of silver ornaments, sources said.