Puri: Lakhs of devotees on Thursday witnessed the Navajauvan Darshan of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra in the pilgrim city here after a long break of 15 days.

The darshan of the Lords were suspended for 15 days after they fell ill after the ritual bath since the Snana Purnima. The deities were taken to a sick room (anabasara griha) inside the temple.

After a special oil (Phulri) was applied on the deities’ body, they manifested himself in a renewed youthful look (Navajouvan) in which the deities went through a complex ritualistic dress-up and their faces applied mostly with natural colours.

The darshan for general public was slated for 3.40 pm. Keeping in view thousands of visitors, all the Puri-bound buses from Bhubanswar were diverted from their usual route.  Elaborate security arrangements were made to ensure smooth conduct of the festivity.