post news network
Raisuan: The annual car festival of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra is held at all places where there is a Jagannath temple, be it in Odisha or outside, even abroad.
The one in Raisuan, in Keonjhar district, is no different. Here, it’s a different story that heralded the Car festival.
According to Aakhandal Sharan Panda, the founder of the Car festival here, when he was 13-year-old, one night he saw an old man in dazzling white carrying an axe in his dream. He saw the old man calling him. Suddenly, he woke up in utter fear. He screamed and asked his friend, who was sleeping beside him, to look for someone who was standing with an axe. His friend could not see anyone.
The next night, he saw a ‘neem tree’ in his dream. He saw the tree standing erect with four branches spreading from its trunk, with no nest of birds and a cobra at its root.
Next morning he and his friend set out in search of that specific tree. But they failed to find any such tree with the typical symbols. The following night, he again saw in his dream the kind of ‘neem tree’ that had appeared in his dream in the previous night at Tangaratali village.
Next morning, he and his friend set off for the village and after reaching there he narrated all about his dream to the villagers. Though they refused to buy the story, later they searched for the tree, and to their utter surprise the tree was found with all the afore-mentioned symbols.
The tree was worshipped and cut down. Idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra were carved out of it.
Since then, Raisuan has been celebrating the Car festival.
