Puri: The Nagarjuna Besha of Srimandir deities is scheduled to be organised November 27, 2020 after a gap of 25 years, said astrologer Baikuntha Nath Nayak of Samanta Chandrasekhar almanac.
However, the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) is yet to announce anything regarding the unique ritual of the deities.
According to the temple tradition, Lord Jagannath and his elder brother Lord Balabhadra are decorated as warriors at the sanctum sanctorum. Servitors usually decorate the deities with weapons like bows, arrows, shields, daggers and knives.
Moreover, Lord Jagannath is decorated with his usual weapon wheel (chakra) and Lord Balabhadra with plough (Halamushala). The Nagarjuna Besha has close links with the Naga Nrutya, a traditional dance, in the Holy City.
The local youths use costumes of warriors before performing Naga Nrutya during the annual Sahijaata.
“As per the Srimandir tradition, the SJTA is bound to organise the Nagarjuna Besha of presiding deities during the Panchaka ritual in the Hindu month of Kartika in 2020,” said a source familiar with Jagannath temple customs and traditions.
Notably, the SJTA had organised Nagarjuna Besha of the presiding deities for the last time November 16, 1994. However, at least six devotees had died in stampede on the temple premises during the Nagarjuna Besha organised November 26, 1993.
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