TV
Coinciding with Lord Jagannath’s ‘Niladri Bije’ (temple entry rituals), ‘Rasagola Dibasa’ is celebrated across Odisha with a lot of enthusiasm and fervour on Friday.
As per legend, Goddess Laxmi gets upset with Lord Jagannath as He took His siblings and not Her to His aunt’s house during the annual Rath Yatra. So, She locks Jai Vijaya Dwar in a bid to stop the Holy Trinity from re-entering Srimandir. Hence, Lord Jagannath offers ‘Rasagola’ to Maa Laxmi on this day to appease her anger after which the sibling deities are allowed to enter Srimandir.
Since July 30, 2015, people of Odisha have been celebrating this auspicious day of ‘Niladri Bije’ as ‘Rasagola Dibasa’. On this special occasion, the Holy Trinity is offered ‘Rasagola’ as ‘bhog’ before being taken into the sanctum sanctorum in the ceremonial ‘Pahandi’ procession. Since then Odia people made it a custom to celebrate Rasagola Dibas on the special day every year.
The day is also observed to mark the birth of the mouthwatering dessert in the State. Rasagola Dibasa is celebrated to highlight the story and the glory of the delicious sweet and to let people know its history and origin.
Historically, references to ‘Rasagola’ can be traced to the late 15th century in Odia Ramayana written by Balaram Das, also known as Dandi Ramayana or Jagamohana Ramayana.
Over the years, ‘Rasagola Dibasa’ has evolved into a widely celebrated event, from villages to cities, with people exchanging the sweet dish to mark the occasion. Sweet shops also participate by preparing special ‘Rasagolaa’ in different flavours, sometimes hosting competitions to showcase their culinary skills.
On July 29, 2019, Odisha received the Geographical Indication (GI) tag for its version of ‘Rasagola’.
