Puri: A number of rituals are held at Puri Jagannath Temple during the Anasara stay of Lord Jagannath and his siblings the application of ‘Phuluri Oil’ (a special herbal oil) on the bodies of the deities is one of the important rituals that shall be done today.
After taking the ritualistic bath with 108 pitchers of sacred water, Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra suffer from fever.
During this period, when the Holy Trinity undergoes treatment inside ‘Anasara Ghara’ a special service – ‘Phuluri Seva’ is offered to them.
As a part of the annual Rath Yatra fete, the deities will undergo ‘Phuluri Seva’ – a herbal oil treatment as part of a secret healing method, under the supervision of the Raja Vaida on the fifth day of the Anabasara period.
Traditionally, the Phuluri Seva is done on a particular day every year. This service was first introduced by Atibadi Jagannath Das, the author of Srimad Bhagabat. He was one of the contemporaries of Lord Chaitanya. For this service, Phuluri oil is used.
The Daitapatis (servitors of the deities during Anabasara period) apply this oil on the bodies of ailing deities. After completion of the ‘Seva’, the deities are offered solid food. Prior to this service, the deities consume liquid food as they are unwell.
Approximately 165 Daitas (servitors) are deployed in service of Lords. This is a very significant, mystic and phenomenal ritual of Sri Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra.
Manually crushed sesame oil, mixed with fragrant flowers, camphor and herbal roots is kept beneath the soil for about a year. In this way, the phuluri oil is prepared.
The deities, who are on a 15-day long ‘Anabasara’ stay in the temple currently, would recover from sickness ahead of Rath Yatra .
