The celebration of life and death…
Do we really have a true understanding of the concepts of death and rebirth? What is death according to our ancient Vedic texts? What did our ancestors say about atma(the soul) and dehantha (the death)? These questions are beyond our understanding of Science and beyond the intelligence of the human mind so far. Some mere equations or laws do not give us answers to these complex questions. The deep understanding of Brahman, and the ability to see through the conscious mind and think beyond the material world, can make us realize reality and appreciate the complexity woven around the human world . This article gives a spectacular glimpse of Puri’s prominent ritual- NABA-KALEBARA, in which the Lord of the universe ‘Jagannath’ himself takes a rebirth.
THE NABA-KALEBARA
Nabakalebara is a combination of two Odia words: Naba (new) and kalebara (body), translated as “the change of one’s physical form”,a significant festival in puri(ODHISA -Kalinga) celebrated once every 8 or 12 or 18 years in which the three idols present in the garbhagriha of puri’s temple(Jagannath, Bala Bhadra and Subhadra) relinquish their old bodies and attain new bodies, symbolizing the Hindu philosophy of rebirth.It signifies the Hindu belief that birth and death are inevitable and only the soul is eternal. It shows that even God cannot be exempted from the cycle of birth and death. This ritual takes place when two Ashada months fall in the same year as per the Hindu calendar (also known as adhika-Ashada). History,culture; craftsmanship, art, music, color; devotion and belief come together hand in hand when the humble hamlet of Puri gets ready for Nabakalebara, to witness the astounding journey of god to his rebirth. The stories and myths woven around the ritual never fail to leave us in amazement, especially the transfer of mysterious “Brahma padartha”, from old idols to new idols, whose origin and form is the most guarded secret by the daitapatis (the servitors of Jagannath-descendants of vishwavasu) .
THE BRAHMA PADARTHA
According to some myths, Brahma Padartha is considered as the mortal remains of Shri Krishna’s body(heart of Krishna) which is left unburnt after Pandavas cremated his body at the end of his incarnation when the hunter Jara shot an arrow at his foot during the end of Dwaraka and Yadava clan. While others say it is the tooth of gautama buddha. some claim that it is a golden tulsi leaf or an ashtadhatu alloy,but the truth remains unknown to date. The astonishing fact is that the whole town of Puri is imposed a total blackout during the time of the transfer of brahmapadardha , due to some myths about bad omens associated with its sight. According to some experts after the removal of barhmapadardha the idols which are basically made of daru (neem wood) disintegrate into six parts, which can be treated analogous to six chakras (energy centers)in human body : Muladhara Chakra, Swadishthan Chakra, Manipura Chakra, Anahata Chakra, Vishuddhi Chakra, Ajna Chakra and the brahmapadardha represents the most significant Sahasrara Chakra which refers to eternal knowledge, consciousness and brahman. As that of the idols, our body survives due to the unified existence of the six chakras but the manifestation of the seventh chakra is something that cannot be described and is referred to as the state of ultimate consciousness (nirvikalpa samadhi). Hence, brahmapadardha is a material representation of the concept Brahma that refers to the eternal existence of the supreme power without beginning or end.
THE SEARCH
It all starts with a ritual called BANAJAGA YATRA, in which the daitapatis set an expedition to find the sacred daru(wood of neem tree)from which the new idols of gods are to be carved. This journey of finding the right daru is done with utmost care and caution since the ordinary daru they select will be soon transformed into god and would soon be worshipped by millions of people. After taking the permission from the Gajapathi of Odisha,daitapatis along with many priests and maharanas(expert carpenters-descendants of Vishwakarma), start their search. On the first day, they reach Deuli Matha temple and then worship Maa Mangala at Kakatpur, where the daitapatis are said to receive a swapnasandesh(a divine message)in their dream regarding the location of the holy darus. there are specific requirements and signs for the daru to be selected as the right one, for example, the daru from which the jagannath’s idol is to be carved should have: four main branches(depicting four arms of Narayan), and its bark should be dark(since Jagannath is called Neela Megha Shyama-one with the colour of dark rainy clouds). The tree should have a Shankha and a chakra on it, There should be a cremation ground and an anthill near the tree, and a snake hole at its roots. The tree should be near a river, pond, a three-way crossing, or three mountains. There should not be birds’ nests on the tree, and no bird should have perched on the tree. The tree should be surrounded by other trees, and there should be a temple to Shiva in the vicinity. The tree should be free of parasitic plants and creepers. In the same way, the daru for idols is also selected as per the respective requirements, But finding them is nearly an impossible task but the divine guidance help daitapatis to find the exact location of darus.after finding them they wrap them in pattu vastras, perform certain rituals then cut down the barks by first striking them with a golden or silver or iron axe. Later they load them into wooden carts, in a long procession accompanied by drums and chanting, the barks are taken to the carving area.
DEATH AND REBIRTH
Once the carts with the sacred wood reach Puri, they are taken to koili baikunta() , where the new idols are carved and the old ones are buried. Then the artisans known as vishwakarmas and maharanas start carving the idols The work is done with utmost privacy and not even the head priest of the temple is allowed to visit the place of work. The carvings are done in 21 days and for these 21 days, the artisans sleep in the temple premises and eat maha prasad. Shlokas from the Vedas are chanted continuously outside the Koili Baikuntha day and night during these 21 days. On one particular midnight, the new deities are carried into the inner sanctum and the chief daitapathi transfers the brahmapadartha into the new idols from the old ones with blindfolded eyes and hands wrapped in silk cloth. The old idols are carried to koili baikunta in the same carts and are buried along with other subsidiary deities. The Sanskrit word for death is dehanta which means the end of the body but not the soul. The body is considered as a vessel for the immortal soul in this mortal world and we treat fire as a medium of disintegration .But in puri, the old idols are buried at instead of being burnt, this is because as per Hindu philosophy, the funeral of someone whose body is not bound by consciousness and ego(like kids, animals,sadhus), can be done by burying them directly into soil. Jagannath is considered the representation of the eternal Almighty. That is why it is believed that funerals of divine idols and other things attached to them do not need any medium like fire. So, they are directly buried under the soil.
THE RATHYATRA AND THE ART
Nearly a million people from all walks of life, who differ in culture, region, religion, language, profession, social and economic status, attend the rath yatra(the annual chariot festival of puri), and one thing that is bringing them beautifully together like flowers in a garland, is their belief in the supreme lord and their long wait to experience the Mahamaya of the Jagannath that makes just bow and surrender themself to him. The Gajapathy of Odisha is supposed to sweep the floor infront of the chariots with a golden broom,which in turn symbolizes that even a king is nothing but a mere servant of god and shows that belief is something beyond power ,wealth, and status.
Three towering chariots (Nandighosha,Taladhvaja, Darpadalana), each one of them is a result of the expert craftsmanship of the manharanas. These chariots travel from Jagannath temple to Gundicha temple, with hundreds of people pulling the sacred ropes(shankkh chooda-considered as sacred as Adisesha). These chariots do not just carry the idols of god, they carry the greatest message of belief and equality.It is noteworthy that each year three chariots are completely built from scratch with no blueprint or written details of the measurements and with no particular procedure but only based on the knowledge that is passed on from the generations in the Maharana clan. The most intriguing fact about these chariots is that no measuring tapes or instruments are used in making them, till today they rely on handspans and other traditional techniques and no iron and nails are used in building these gigantic chariots . The Katha Upanishad compares the human body as Rath, this helps in understanding the relevance of Rathyatra in our culture:
Atmanam rathinam viddhi shareeram rathameva tu, Buddhim tu sarathim viddhi manaha pragrahameva tu. Indriyani hayanyahur vishayansteshu gocharan,
Which can be Translated as:
The atman is Rathi — owner of the `chariot’ — the body, the intellect as the Sarathi — driver, the mind as the rein, the senses as the horses, and the Panch Vishayas as material objects of the five senses — are the fields of pasture for the horses.
The above ritual not only signifies the interest in tradition and festivities for the Hindu but also signifies his understanding, acceptance and celebration of what in simple terms can be called the birth-death-rebirth cycle.
AUTHOR: Ujwala Desu, EC22B1126: I am a great admirer of Indian culture and temple architecture. The knowledge of our forefathers in the fields of science and geometry always amaze me and I love to gather information about myths, stories and legends about our temples and rituals. I find a great sense of self-satisfaction in decoding the messages and secrets hidden in them.
