To the millions of devotees in Odisha and all around the globe, the grandest of all festivals of Mahaprabhu Shree Jagannatha (Lord of the Universe) is the unique and elaborate, Nabakalebara. It is during this months-long mega-spectacle, pilgrims and visitors throng the holy city of Puri, one of the four cardinal centres of Hindus (Chaar-Dhaams) to seek blessings of the deities, Shree Jagannatha, Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Sudarshana collectively known as Chaturddha- murtti. Ritualistic traditions of Shree Jagannatha temple are so diverse and complex; I have experienced it closely having the privilege of working in the 12th Century shrine as its Chief Administrator between 2012-14.
Nabakalebara has a long history, as revealed from the temple chronicle, Madala Panji. Few sources cite 1575 AD as the commencement of Nabakalebara rituals. However, authentic physical records are available since the early part of nineteenth century describing this mega event. The Department of Culture, Government of Odisha took the lead in putting all such credible documents, available in bits and pieces as well as in documentary forms. Odisha State Archives that houses hundreds of thousands of precious records became the pivotal point to bring all such relevant papers relating to the Nabakalebara festival in the last two centuries and this has culminated in this Collector's item.
I'm indeed privileged to lead a very erudite team of experts in the field to edit this document. I can but inadequately express my grateful thanks to Dr. Mahesh Prasad Dash, Prof. Raj Kishore Mishra, Prof. Atul Chandra Pradhan, Dr. Kailash Chandra Dash, Dr. Bibekananda Das and Dr. Bhagyalipi Malla for their very skilful compilation of this volume. Support extended by the Superintendent, Odisha State Archives and her team, namely, Dr. Sk. Soleman Ali and Sri Prasanta Kumar Mohakud are sincerely acknowledged. The ex-Director, Sri Sushil Kumar Das deserves a special mention in preparation of this document, who co-ordinated activities during the start of the project.
Sri Ranjit Kumar Mohanty, present Director also helped at each stage, especially in getting the document printed on time. Sri Ashok Chandra Panda, Hon'ble Minister, Tourism & Culture; Sri Gokul Chandra Pati, Chief Secretary, Sri R. Balakrishnan, Additional Chief Secretary, Finance Department gave guidance at each stage and encouraged the team with their moral support. Special thanks are due to Sri Asit Tripathy, Principal Secretary, Home Department for making available the Inquiry Commission report relating to 1977 Nabakalebara festival.
The Director, Printing, Stationary and Publication, Madhupatana, Cuttack readily agreed to print the document within the shortest possible time and our sincere thanks are due to him. We also place on record our gratitude to the individuals and institutions, namely, Shree Jagannatha Temple Administration, Puri, Odisha State Museum, Bhubaneswar and 1 & P.R Department, Government of Odisha who provided valuable records and photographs for compilation of this edition.
The editorial team earnestly hopes that Nabakalebara: An Archival Document' will be a very good source of authentic materials relating to the mega ritualistic event and prove useful to students, researchers and enthusiasts on Jagannatha Culture.
Puranic myth, living legends, temple tradition and brahmanic ritualization have transformed the presiding Deities at Pursottama-Jagannatha-Shrikshetra-Nilachala-Puri in Odisha into a mysterious Brahman (the primordial unmanifest cosmic consciousness to an embodied and perceivable and qualified Brahman in the sanctum sanctorum or Shrimandira in Puri Dhama). In the temple terminology Lord Jagannatha, Balabhdra and Subhadra are known as the Holy Trinity and with the divine disc, Sudarshana along side Lord Jagannatha constitute the Chaturddhamurtti. The quadruple divine idols are but One in devotees' psyche as Lord Jagannatha. Besides the idols of Balabhadra, Subhadra, Jagannatha and Sudarshana on the Ratnasimhasana (the bejewelled throne) the three other icons, eg. Shridevi (Spouse of Lord Vishnu-Jagannatha), Bhudevi (Earth-goddess or Saraswati) and Madhava (the miniature form of lord Jagannatha-Dhadhivamana) are placed there and as such, the seven divinities are known as Saptabaranamurtti or Saptadha Murtti or the Holy Septarian One.
The Jagannatha temple is situated in the littoral town of Puri (Latitude 19° 18'17 and Longitude 85° 51'39), near the Bay of Bengal (earlier known as Purba Sagara or Kalinga Sagara) upon a huge sand dune or a hillock with verdant plantations which from a distance looked like a Nilashaila or Blue Mountain in the past. Recently Puri dhama has been declared as one of the heritage cities for HRIDAY under Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana by Govt. of India.
There are multiple inter-woven legends regarding the evolution of Lord Jagannatha. Sarala Dasa's Mahabharata which is still considered a magnum opus of India's vernacular literature in the 15th century, gives an account of Nilamadhava alias Lord Jagannatha and his emergence in Odisha in his Vana and Musali parvas or cantos.
Jagannatha in days of yore was first secretly worshipped as Indranilamani Vigraha who used to receive adoration from the celestial bodies in the night in a sequestered wooded niche or a cave in the Blue Hill. The tribal chief, Biswabasu happened to be present there each night. The king of Malaba (Malwa) being informed by Narada about the presence of Lord Vishnu in Utkala Desha craved for an early darshana of the same. He sent his Brahmin minister's younger brother Vidyapati as an emissary for first hand reporting. Deulatola Kavyas composed by Shishu Krushna Dasa and Nilambara Dasa give a vivid description as to how the emissary had had a visit to the forest arbour on Nilagiri to have a glimpse of Nilamadhava and how he contrived a marriage with Lalita, the daughter of Biswabasu Shabara. He fled to Malaba to report to the king. The king with a large retinue reached the place in the company of Narada and to his utter dismay, he found the precious idol had vanished. After a long appeal, he heard an oracle that the king could only perceive Him in the form of a floating log in the Bay of Bengal near Banki Muhana in Puri. The oracle came true. The king could retrieve the wood afloat in the sea with the help of Biswabasu in the presence of Brahma (the Creator). This floating wood, according to some scholars, is also mentioned in a Vedic hymn which is still controversial as it does not specifically refer to Purusottama of Puri. The Skanda Purana (13th /14th century) is silent about Lalita but describes how a massive Ashwamedha sacrifice was conducted by king Indradyumna and from the sacrificial fire appeared on the day of Jyestha Purnima an awe-inspiring image of fierce Narasingha or Nrusingha being flanked by Balabhadra and goddess Lakshmi and Veda patta on Narasingha's lap.
Vedas (1185)
Upanishads (497)
Puranas (629)
Ramayana (742)
Mahabharata (360)
Dharmasastras (166)
Goddess (500)
Bhakti (243)
Saints (1511)
Gods (1291)
Shiva (373)
Journal (184)
Fiction (60)
Vedanta (361)
Send as free online greeting card
Email a Friend
Visual Search
Manage Wishlist