Jagannath Rath Yatra 2023: Why Do Idols In Jagannath Temple In Puri Get Replaced After Few Years?

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A ritual by name Nabakalebara is conducted just a few weeks before the rath yatra of jagannath begins. This is a ritual in which wooden idols of Gods including the SUdarshan Chakra are replaced with due observances.

New Carved wooden idols are placed in the place of old ones, the wood for making which is sourced from a special tree called Daru Brahma tree that is not so widely available everywhere.

The task of finding the right tree every year is an onerous one. They visit the Mangala Temple in Kakatpur village and pray to the goddess there to help them.

One of them gets a dream visitation from the goddess who tells them where to head for the right kind of tree. They always get the correct indications. The tree to make sudarshan chakra should have three branches and the skin of the tree should be in a reddish hue.

Balabhadra's tree should have seven branches and its bark should be either white or light brown and it should be sourced from a heritage place or a graveyard. Subhadra's tree should have five branches with a yellow tinged bark. The tree of Jagannath should have four dark coloured branches.

The tree should be from a cemetery with an anthill nearby and a snake hole at its base. The tree should be close to a Lord Shiva temple. This is a highly complicated process as the idols can be replaced after the 8th, 12th or 19th year counted from the date of last replacement.

Wood or clay, be it any of these two, is bound to rot quickly and decay as well. Only the year with an adhika masa in the lunar calendar is chosen for this ritua, the head priests decide all about the procedural details to be followed.

It starts in the Chaitra masa (March-April) and gets completed a few weeks before the Rath Yatra begins.After the trees are found, the building of idols does not begin right away. A

special homa is conducted after which the trees are cut. Artists with the title Vishwakarma undertake the sculpting process. A yaga for Narasimha is performed. While sculpting, no one is allowed inside except the artisans.

No artisan is supposed to take food, drink liquor or smoke inside this chamber as it is a sacred task that is being done. Purifying rituals are done by Priests to cleanse the atmospheric air.

The energies of the old images, as soon as the replacement is complete, will be transferred to the new idols and the old images are buried in a place called Koili Baikuntha.

Then the sudarshan chakra and other idols are brought with great fanfare into the Shri Mandir into the Sanctum as the devout folk wait with bated breath to be a witness to the new avatar of lord Jagannath and other gods.

Nabakalebara is a ritual that is unheard of, and something that is seen only at Puri Jagannath. People participate in this ritual with dedication and devotion.