Lord Jagannath Fully Recovers From Illness, Ready For July 7 Rath Yatra

by Pabitra Mohan Senapaty

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

The Lord has completely recovered from his illness. His fever is all gone and He is all set to roll on Rath on pilgrim city Puri’s Grand Road on July 7 to mingle with countless devotees.

Bhubaneswar, July 3: The Lord has completely recovered from his illness. His fever is all gone and He is all set to roll on Rath on pilgrim city Puri’s Grand Road on July 7 to mingle with countless devotees.

Yes, it’s a big piece of news for all the devotees of Lord Jagannath. The Lord of Universe and His siblings – elder brother Lord Balabhadra and younger sister Goddess Subhadra — who had fallen sick after taking heavy showers on the occasion of Snana Yatra a few days ago, fully recovered on Wednesday following days of secret treatments by temple priests with traditional herbal medicines.

As per the tradition, a team of senior Daita servitors, including Patimohapatra went to the royal palace in a ceremonial procession called ‘Rajprasad Bije’ and appraised the Gajapati King Dibyasingha Deb about the recovery of the deities from fever.

Gajapati is known as the Adya Sevak or First Servitor of Lord Jagannath.

On July 7, the deities will come out of Srimandir (Jagannath Temple) and make a holy journey to their aunt Srigundicha’s place. This journey from Srimandir to Srigundicha Temple is famously known as Rath Yatra or Car Festival. Lakhs of devotees from across the country and abroad witness this majestic annual festival.

“Servitors, all the officials and employees of Srimandir Temple Administration, Puri district administration and police personnel are fully ready for the smooth conduct of all the rituals during the upcoming nine-day Rath Yatra. Now, we will pray for the Lord’s blessings only for the mandkind,” said the Gajapati King.

After the ‘Snana Purnima’ rituals on June 22, the Holy Trinity fell ill and entered into Anasara Pindi (quarantine chaber) for 14 days.

During this 14-day quarantine period, the deities reside in the Anasara Pindi. They undergo treatment with natural herbs, special Phuluri oil and Dasamula herbal medicines during the period.

The Phuluri oil used in the rituals during the Anasara period is specially prepared by the Basa Odia Matha every year. The oil is prepared with a combination of flowers, sandalwood powder, Bena Chera, rice and camphor.

During this Anasara period, devotees are not allowed to have darshan of the sibling deities. The doors of the Sanctum Sanctorum remain closed, and traditional Pattachitra paintings of the deities are worshipped.

Read More Odisha News

Cut Down Smoking To Avoid Cognitive Ageing: Study

by Pabitra Mohan Senapaty

New Delhi, July 6: Want to maintain sharp memory skills and cognitive function as you age? Cutting down on smoking suggests a large study that found it to be a key lifestyle factor linked to cognitive decline.

The study, published in Nature Communications, is based on a 10-year survey of 32,000 adults aged 50 or over from 14 countries in Europe.

The team led by researchers from the University College London, UK showed that cognitive decline was faster for lifestyles that included smoking. People who smoked had cognitive scores that declined up to 85 per cent more over 10 years than those who did not.

Lead author Mikaela Bloomberg (UCL Behavioural Science & Health) said the study "is observational; it cannot definitively establish cause and effect, but it suggests smoking might be a particularly important factor influencing the rate of cognitive ageing".

As per previous studies, people who engaged in more healthy behaviours like regular exercise, and moderate alcohol intake have slower cognitive decline. However, it did not specify whether all behaviours contributed equally to cognitive decline.

However, the new study showed that among the healthy behaviours, "not smoking may be the most important in terms of maintaining cognitive function".

Among those unable to stop smoking, the study suggests engaging in other healthy behaviours such as regular exercise, moderate alcohol consumption, and remaining socially active "to offset adverse cognitive effects", Mikaela said.

--IANS

Read More Health and Wellness News

India In Two Finals In Asian Doubles Squash Championships

by Pabitra Mohan Senapaty

Johor (Malaysia), July 6: Top Indian star Abhay Singh will feature in two finals at the Asian Doubles Squash Championships in Johor, Malaysia, on Sunday. On Saturday, he and Velavan Senthilkumar, the top seeds, stormed into the Men’s Doubles title round with a commanding 11-9, 11-2 win over the Japanese pair of Tomotaka Endo and Naoki Hayashi in 23 minutes in the last-four stage.

Later, Asian Games medallist Abhay and the experienced Joshna Chinappa, the third seeds, defeated the Hong Kong pair of Cheng Nga Ching and Lai Cheuk Nam Matthew of Hong Kong 11-8, 11-10 in the Mixed Doubles semifinals.

“I’m very pleased to be in both finals, winning two gold medals was the goal before we came here so that’s what we are focused on tomorrow,” Abhay said.

“The men’s match was a comfortable 2-0 while the mixed match was a bit challenging, but still pleased to come through without dropping a game. Being in another final of an Asian Championship is an honour, looking forward to converting them both,” he added.

Abhay and Joshna will meet second seed Tong Tsz Wing and Tang Ming Hong of Hong Kong for the Mixed Doubles title and Abhay and Velavan will lock horns with second seed Ong Sai Hung and Syafiq Kamal of Malaysia in the men’s doubles final.

“Solid performances by both pairs to reach the finals. Once the Asian Championships were announced the Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) along with our strategic partner HCL held the National Championships from where the pairs were selected,” SRFI secretary-general Cyrus Poncha said.

--IANS

Lord Jagannath Fully Recovers From Illness, Ready For July 7 Rath Yatra

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