The annual three-day Deva Dipawali ritual began at Sri Jagannath Temple in Puri on Monday. Every year, the festival begins on the day of Krushnapaksha Chaturdashi in the Hindu month of Margasira, and continues through Amabasya next day and Pratipada the day after.
‘Mahadipa’, a huge diya, is lifted atop the temple late in the evening by the Chunara servitors, following which 1 lakh diyas will be lighted on the Grand Road tomorrow.
During this three-day observation, the holy trinity is dressed in white garments as it marks a phase of paying respects and remembering the forefathers.
On these days, Lord Jagannath wears the Shraddha Besha and offers ‘pinda’ to his ancestors. On the first day, ‘Sandhya dhup’ ritual takes place after which Lord Jagannath offers ‘Pinda’ to King Indradyumna, who established the deities in the temple.
On the second day, as an incarnation of Lord Ram, Lord Jagannath offers Pinda to his father, King Dasarath and mother Kausalya. On Pratipada Tithi, the Lord makes offerings to Devaki, Basudeva, Nanda, Yasoda and Gundicha.
The pushpalaka servitors adorn the Lord and His siblings with the Shraddha attires that are comprised of Nagapuri Saree and bed sheet.
Speaking about the rituals, Sri Jagannath Culture expert, Sharat Mohanty said, “Lord Jagannath acts like humans during these three days. Margashira month is the first month of the year as per the ancient scriptures. So the Lord donates Diya for his ancestors first, then the humans do the same thing in Kartik Amavasya after 11 months.”
“A tree made up rice will be set up just below the Ratna Singhasan. The tree would have jackfruit on it and even birds would have nested on its branches. A total of 28 diyas will be lit at the Ratna Singhasan, 10 for Lord Jagannath, and nine each for Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra. Mahaprabhu wears Nagapuri Kashi-dhadia fabric during the Shraddha which is 24-hands long,” Mohanty said.
During the Shraddha Besha the ornaments that the Lord and His siblings wear are Tadagi, Nalibhuja, Chandra, Surya, Kundala, Adkani, Harida Mali, Antakamara pati etc.