NaBaKalebara - 2015 (Ceremony of New-Embodiment )

Of Lord Jagannath of PURI

ByArdhendu Sekhar Sinha

Away from the hustle and bustle of metro cities, in the eastern coast of India, in the state of Odisha, near the sea shore of bay of Bengal, situated a city named PURI. In this city, there lies a 11th century famous, sacred and grand Hindu temple/Buddhist temple known as Jagannath temple. It is built on a gigantic raised platform of stone rising to 214 feet (65 m) in the heart of the city. The temple complex is enclosed by a wall about seven meters high -including the height of the platform. The area of this platform is more than 4,20,000 sq.ft. The wall is impaled by four gates ,facing four directions. On the East-facing gate, there are stone idols of two lions and it is called the Lions Gate. The North, South and West facing gates are similarly known as the Elephant Gate, the Horse Gate and the Tiger Gate (also called as KhanjaGate) respectively.

The temple is the adobe of the most merciful, infinite loving, Lord of Universe ShreeJagannath, incarnation of Lord Krishna, the Supreme. In side the temple, He isworshipped with his elder brother Lord Balabhadra, sister Subhadra and the mightySudarshan Chakra.

Scholars and researchers from the west who visited the temple in 17th

century and later concluded that the idols are of Buddhist origin as the idols predict the Buddhist symbol of the Three Jewels.

NabaKalebara is an important and uniqueceremony of the Grand Temple of LordJagannath. It is a ritual pertaining to the newembodiment of the deities. It is the uniqueceremony of ‘Birth’ and the ‘Death’ of thepresiding wooden idols. It involves a totalreplacement of five idols with the new ones anddiscarded idols are given a sub-terrainconsignment as a divine burial. This ritual isnormally celebrated in a year having two Ashadhamonths in the Hindu almanac. Such occasionsarise at long intervals varying from 9 to 19 years.As this ceremony is going to be observed in 2015,everyone is curious and keen to be part of it andwitness the rituals.

The ceremony of Navakalebara starts on the 10th day of thebright fortnight of Chaitra. It takes place in certain phases asbelow -

• BanaJaga Yatra

It contains following steps -

I. Group Formation

II. Authorization from Lord Jagannath and Gajapati (King ofPuri)

III. Location and Direction for Daru (sacred Neem tree)

IV. Identification of proper sacred tree

V. Return to temple with the Daru

• Construction of Idols

• Netra Utsav

• Transfer of Brahma from old idols to new

• Patali Lila (Burial of old idols)

• NabJaubana Darshan

BanaJaga Jatra -Group Formation -A search party is formed that would go out to locate the SacredTree. It consists of Pati Mahapatra sevak , Dayitapatis, LenkaKahali, Viswakarmas, Brahmin priests, Deula Karana, TadhauKarana and temple police .

Permission from Lord Jagannath and Gajapati -After the Midday offering to Lord Jagannath, the blessing ofthe Lord is sought. The Patimahapatra performs the worship-rituals and receives four garlands (“Agnya mala”) from thefour deities, specially prepared for the purpose. Of the four,he distributes the garlands to the leaders of the respectivegroups and keeps the fourth one for himself. From then on,He would carry the garland until the sacred tree is located.Dayitapaties and Pati Mahapatra tie a turban ( robe of Lord )on their head while going on the procession. Both the garlandand the clothes indicates that Lord himself traveling withthe group. Gajapati, the King of Puri, greets the party in aritualistic manner and through this ritual authorizes thegroup to venture out in search of Daru (log of Neem tree ).

GajapatiKing of Puri

Location and Direction for Daru –For searching party, first halt is JagannathBallav Math. After spending a night there,they go to Kakatpur, a village 50 miles awayfrom Puri, to the famous temple of MaaMangala, the presiding deity of Kakatpur.After reaching the village, they stay at DeuliMath for several days while the Patimahapatra, the Acharya and the Brahminpriest sleeps inside the temple. They recite“Swapnabati Mantra” and the “Mantraraja ofNrushingha” 108 times each before going tobed. Any of them must have a dream duringthis stay in which Maa Mangala reveals theexact location where the trees can be found.The tree for each of the four deities will be ina different place. Being blessed by thegoddess, they set out in different groups anddirections looking for the Darus. This maytake as long as 15 days to one month. Duringthe entire period the group will eat theprasad of goddess Mangala.

Jagannath Ballav Math, Puri

Ma Mangala Temple, Kakatpur

Deuli Math, Kakatpur

Identification of proper sacred tree -

Once the group reach the exact location, they look

for the sacred tree. The Daru for Sri Jagannath should satisfy the following criteria –

The trunk of the tree should look straight having four

clear branches and should be 7 to 12 cubit high. The tree should have the divine marks of Lord Vishnu like Sankha (Conch), Chakra(Disc), Gada(Mace) and Padma (Lotus). It should have come up near a river or a pond or on a crossing of 3 path-ways and surrounded by mountains on three sides. It is good enough if there is a cremation ground or a temple of Lord Siva or at least a hermitage nearby. The tree should be free from

creepers. It should also be shorn of nests of birds. It should not have been hit by lightening or affected in any way by storm in the past. There should be an anthill at the foot of the tree. It may also have some snake-holes. The tree should be surrounded by trees like ‘Varuna’, ‘Sahada’ and ‘Bilva’. The Trees for Balabhadra, Suvadra and Sudarshan are also chosen based on respective criteria.

Sankha Mark on Neem tree

Chakra Mark on Neem tree

Gada Mark on Neem tree

Return to Temple -

After the sacred tree is chosen, a yagna is performed in front of it. The team moves to a temporary thatched hut nearby and stays in it till all rituals are complete. The cutting of the tree commences at an auspicious time. The Pati Mahapatra first touches the tree with a golden axe followed by the Dayitapati who touches it with a silver axe and the head wood carver of Biswakarma touches it with an iron axe. Then four Biswakarmas start cutting the tree. During this event , 108 names of God are chanted continuously. Once it is complete, the entire trunk along with its branches are placed in a wooden cart after. It is ceremoniously bathed and covered with silken clothes. Then it is dragged by the Dayitapatis and others in the group to the Temple. This completes the

Banajaga yatra.

Gold and Silver axe

Yagna before cutting the tree

Daru on Cart

Construction of Idols -After the Daru and the team reaches Puri, It is carried along the Grand road to the Grand Temple through its Northern Gate. ‘Darus’ reach the temple before the Snana Purnima day and kept in a temporary shed constructed in Koilibaikuntha within the temple premises. On the ‘Snana Purnima ‘ day, the old statues receive the ritual bath on “Snana Mandap”. The ‘Darus’ also simultaneously receive the ritual bath like the old statues on the same Snana Purnima day. One day after Snana Purnima, the ‘Darus’ are taken to Nirman Mandap. It is the place where darusare carved to statues. Carving of the idols begin with three oldest wood carvers carving the main sculptors for the deity of Lord Jagannath. The idols of Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra are simultaneously carved by other two teams consisting of three carvers each. More than 50 carpenters work as assistant to the main carvers.

Construction of Idols -The work is done with utmost confidentiality and not even the head priest of the temple is allowed to visit the place of work. The wood carvers are not supposed to consume anything (eat, drink or smoke) once inside the “NirmanMandap”. The carvings are completed in 21 days and during this period the carvers are not supposed to leave the temple premises. They sleep in the temple courtyard in the night and have their dinner in the form of Lord’s Mahaprasad. During this span of time, the temple remains closed to the public. “Akhanda Bhajan” ( Continues singing of Devotional song day and night) is performed outside the Koili Baikuntha. Shlokas from the Vedas are chanted continuously by Brahmin priests.

Netra UtsavWhen the carving of new idols are complete, Their structures are simply considered as the skeletons of the idols. In the beginning of the dark fortnight of the extra Ashadha, these idols are entrusted to the care of the temple-servants known as Dutta Mahapatra. Their task is to apply on them different substances by wrapping them up with cloth stripes. This way, they give a final shape to the statues and handover the deities to the Chitrakars (Painters). The Chitrakars paint the idols within two days (on the 14th and the new-moon day of Ashadha) with indigenous colors. They however don’t paint the pupils of the eyes of the deities. This work is done by the Brahmin priests on the 1st day of the bright half of the regular Ashadha with great devotion in the sanctum. This ritual is known as Netra Utsava. After giving the final touch to the eyes of the deities, the Brahmin servitors bath them (their reflections in the bronze mirrors) with ‘Panchamruta’.

Transfer of Brahma from old idols to new –When the Netra Utsav is complete, they are carried into the inner sanctum of the temple (Anabasara Pindi) and placed in front of the old deities, facing them. Lord Jagannath'sheight is 5' 7“. His outstretched arms measure 12 ft. across. He is the heaviest among all the deities. Balabhadra is a bit lighter. His height is 5' 5" and His arms are also 12 ft. across. Subhadra is less than 5‘ and light. Sudarsana is in a long log-shaped form and 5' 10" in length. As Jagannath and Balabhadra are quite heavy, dayitapatis carry them in a procedure called “Pahandi” with 5 persons on each arm, 10 on backside, and more than 20 persons pulling the idol from front . During this period no body is allowed inside for a Darshan of the Lord, not even the temple priests. The three new deities are carried inside only by descendants of the Dayitapati family.

Transfer of Brahma from old idols to new –It is at this point of time that the ‘Bramha’ is transferred fromthe old idols to the new idols. The transfer of ‘Brahma’ of LordJagannath is done by Patimahapatra. The transfer of Brahma inrespect of the other deities is done by the Dayitapatis. Theservitors Conducting the secret ritual are old and experiencedpersons. Their eyes and hands (up to elbows) are covered withcloth-bands so that they can’t touch and see the Brahma at thetime of transfer. This is done at the dead of the night. Beforetransfer of the ‘Brahma, a special offering (‘Sarbanga PantiBhog’”) is offered to the old deities. This is the last offering to othe old statues. Many among the servitors also hold the viewthat the idol of Jagannath might have contained the remains ofthe Jagannath-statue that was burnt in 1568 by Kalapahada inHoogly . The Brahma was brought by a devotee called BiswarMohanty through his musical drum to Odisha. ‘Brahma’ is themost invaluable rarities in the divine sense. Their implication issaid to be not within the understanding of humans.

Patali Lila (Burial of old idols)As soon as the ‘Brahma’ is taken out ofan idol, the same is considered as dead.Then it is loaded in the same cart inwhich the corresponding new idol hadbeen brought in and the same isinstantly carried to Koilibaikunthawhich is considered the graveyard ofthe old idols. It is situated near northgate of the temple. Here a pit (9 Hand deep and 6 Hand indiameter) is kept ready in the midst of a beautiful garden toreceive the old wooden idols. The pit is spread out with redvelvet and the old idols are buried here. There are threeseparate graves for the three deities, but all the previousJagannath idols are laid to rest in the same grave, one on top ofthe other. The peripheral deities of the chariots are also buriedhere and new deities are made for Ratha Yatra (Car Festival).That night a full blackout of Electric power is done in whole ofPuri city.

KoiliBaikuntha garden

Patali Lila (Burial of old idols) –The Dayitapatis observe all rituals of obsequies as the Lord isconsidered their supreme family member. The Dayitapatisremain in a state of impurity for a period of ten days. They leavetheir hair unsaved. They also observe all sorts of obsequies. Onthe tenth day, they come to the temple and apply oil to theirbodies near Mukti Mandap and next proceed to the MarkendayaTank where they cut their hair and nail and observe purifyingbaths. They also whitewash their houses. On the 12th day, theDaitas gave a feast to all the servitors of the Temple. Just as theheirs of a deceased person lay claims on the properties of thelatter, the Dayitapatis lay claims on the articles used by “the latestatues” after the burial function is over. Normally, the Temple,for this purpose, pays some money to the Dayitas by way ofcompensation. However they take the relics of the old statueslike cloth-stripes etc. which they mostly sell to the pilgrims.

Naba Jauban DarshanOn the morning of the second day the new deities areseated on the altar, the “Ratna-Singhasana. The dailyroutine of the temple finally begins again, after a lapseof nearly 58 days. Sweet-smelling flower garlands andnew garments are given to the new deities, food isoffered, and puja is done. Devotees can again comeinside for darshan. This darshan is called“NabaJaubana“ darshan. On the third day, the newdeities emerge from the temple for the famous CarFestival. The Naba Kalebara draws millions of peoplefrom across the world to Puri. Naba Kalebara is one ofthe biggest festival in the country and draws the mostnumber of people.

Jay Jagannath !Thank You