27. Nava-kalevava - Lord Jagannath's "Change of body" pastime

Nava-kalevava - Lord Jagannath's "Change of body" pastime:

ajo 'pi sann avyayātmā

bhütänam iśvaro 'pi san

prakrtim svim adhisthaya

sambhavamy alma-mayaya

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said, "Although I am unborn and My transcendental body never deteriorates and although I am the Lord of all living entities, I still appear by My internal energy to govern the material creation." - BG 4.6

"Nava-kalevara" means "new body." Approximately every two years and eight months there is a leap (extra) month in the Vedic calendar. When this leap month occurs between the snana- yatra and ratha-yatra festivals the transcendental bodies of the Deities of Lord Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra are changed. This grand festival is known as nava-kalevara. If by that time, small portions of the existing wooden images are found spoiled, those portions only are repaired. This activity is known as Sriangapitha (opening the sacred body). 

Nava-kalevara, was observed previously in 2015, 1996, 1977 and 1969. It is the most well- attended of all the festivals in Puri. The ratha- yatra festival in Puri draws about 7 lakh people each year. However, for the Ratha-yatra which takes place immediately after nava-kalevara the crowds increase to two-and-a-half million. At that time the devotees have their first darsana of the new Deity of Jagannatha. 

Most of the nava-kalevara ceremony proceedings are strictly secret. No one except the descendants of the families who established the original worship of Lord Jagannatha are allowed access. These priests, or pandas as they are known in Puri, are descendants of the families of Viśvavasu and Vidyapati, worshippers of Lord Jagannath when He first made His appearance millions of years ago. 

(In composing this article we had the good fortune to receive some help from His Grace Sudarsana Das Mahapatra, a descendent of Viśvavāsu and one of the pandas of the Puri temple. He allowed us to use many photos he had taken of various aspects of the nava-kalevara ceremony which had never been captured on film before.)

Palm Leaf Manuscripts:

The ceremonies involved in changing the Deities are very elaborate. They are described in four ancient Sanskrit scriptures which are written on palm leaves and kept within the Jagannatha temple. Except for the three head-priests, no one is allowed to see them. These four scriptures are: 

1) Brahma-yamala-This book describes the rules and details of the worship of Lord Jagannatha. 

2) Rudra-yamala-The process of worship of Lord Baladeva.

3) Tantra-yamala-Description of the elaborate processes of worship of the Deities, especially Subhadra Devi. It contains many mandalas, symbolic diagrams used in worship. 

4) Niladri-mahodaya-This Sastra discusses the origin of the temple.

The Lord's Pretense:

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.27.12 describes that Deities can be made from 8 different substances like stone, wood, metal, earth, paint, sand, the mind, or jewels. The Deity of Lord Jagannatha in Puri however, must be made from wood. 

Padma Purana describes:

samudrasyottare tire

aste śri-purusottame 

pürnänanda-mayam brahma 

daru-vyaja-sarira-bhrt

On the northern shore of the ocean, in Purusottama-ksetra, the supremely blissful Personality of Godhead pretends to be made of wood.

Further evidence that the Lord appears in a wooden form is also found in the Mahabharata, where Grandfather Bhisma states:

varuno varuno vrksah 

puşkarakṣo maha-manāḥ

Here Bhismadeva gives the name vrksaḥ, or "tree," as one of the thousand names of Lord Visnu. 

In particular, Lord Jagannatha must be fashioned from the wood of a neem tree (azadirachta indica). Neem is a sacred tree commonly found all over India. Caitanya Mahaprabhu is also known as Nimai Pandita, since He made His appearance under a neem tree. Neem trees are thought to keep ghosts away. Materials from the tree are used extensively in Ayurvedic medicine. It is also very resistant to the attack of insects. Neem wood will last thirty years or more, and there are Deities still present today that were fashioned from neem hundreds of years ago. Although the neem tree is very common, the four trees that are used to carve the four Deities have to meet many extraordinary requirements.

Ancient Procedure:

Although the trees used to fashion the Deities may come from anywhere in Orissa, the name of the particular village where each tree will be found is recorded in the "Niladri-mahodaya sastra". This book, written on palm leaves thousands of years ago, contains a list of all the places where the trees will be found for each nava-kalevara festival going into the future for thousands of years. Even though the specific place is already stated in Sastra, the location of each tree must also be revealed in a dream to the head priest. The ancient procedure for finding the trees is described briefly as follows:

The year in which adhik mas occurs or when there are two ashadha mas occur; that year, on an auspicious day of the bright fortnight of Chaitra, the king of Puri takes up a meeting with the Rajaguru, the representatives of sevaks and brahmin pandits to discuss the matter and requests the Daita sevaks to collect daru for preparing the deities.

A search party goes out looking for the trees. This party must consist of 

1. one member of the Pati Mahapatra family (descendants of the brahmana Vidyapati)

2. Twenty Dayitapatis (descendants of Viśvavāsu)

3. Sixteen brahmanas

4. Thirty police officers

5. Three inspectors of police

6. One Lenka, and 

7. Nine Mahāranas

(Total 70 members)

(The Lenka and Maharana families are the descendants of Viśvakarma, the craftsman of the demigods, who is said to have carved the first Deities of Jagannatha). 

Before leaving, they must receive the blessings of Lord Jagannatha. This comes as a 12 foot long garland called dhama-mala. This garland is first offered to each of the Deities, then the head-priest gives the garland to the eldest member of the Pati Mahapatra family, who carries this mālā on his head or in his hands as he leads the procession. When the tree has been found, the garland will be placed on a coconut offering in front of a fire sacrifice. Before leaving the temple, the pandas tie pieces of cloth from Lord Jagannatha's dress as turbans on their heads to indicate that the Lord will go with them, The procession begins at the altar in front of Jagannatha. At that time, Lord Jagannatha's shoes are touched to the heads of everyone in the party.

The procession goes first to the palace of the King of Puri to receive his permission. From the palace they proceed to the Jagannatha Vallabha gardens, where the party spends 2 days engaged in prayer as guests of the Jagannatha Vallabha Matha. After that, they travel about 30 miles to spend one night at the Deuli Matha.

Sacred Dream:

The next morning they walk another 20 miles to the village of Kakatpur, which lies between Puri and Konarka. At this village is the temple of the goddess Durgā known as "Mangala or Vimala". It is said that Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited this extremely ancient deity on His way to Puri. The pandas describe that Lord Jagannatha considers Mangala-devi to be His mother. The party stays for several days at the temple.

During this time the eldest Davityapati sleeps inside, waiting for Goddess Mangala to appear to him in a dream and tell him the locations where the trees will be found. These locations are then confirmed to be correct by those priests who are allowed access to the Niladri-mahodaya sastra. When the party arrives at the sites that were revealed in both the dream and in the sastra, they may find many trees growing there. However, the darus, or sacred trees, have specific characteristics that set them apart from any ordinary trees that may be there.

Divine Trees:

Lord Jagannath daru:

The special features by which the Jagannatha daru is identified are as follows: 

Three other trees must be growing nearby:

1) The Bila or Bael tree (aegle marmelos):

The leaves of this tree are used in the worship of Lord Siva. Possessing great healing powers, the Bilva tree is commonly used in Ayurvedic medicine. 

2) Varuna tree (cractova tapia):

Also used in Ayurvedic medicine. This rare tree is reputed to be able to protect one from snakes. It is said to have the potency to destroy pride and anger. 

3) Sahada tree: 

This tree is said to be able to help one forget the false ego. It is also very rare.

The site of the sacred daru must be surrounded by 3 mountains. Also, a large ant-hill, a temple of Lord Šiva, a crematorium, a junction of 3 roads, a lake, and a river must be found nearby. The lake will be used by the priests for ceremonial bathing.

The tree itself must be blackish in color and have 4 branches stemming from the main trunk. It must be free from disease and any visible effects of lightning damage. There should be no creepers or vines growing on the tree and no birds living there. If any birds are nested in it, the tree is considered impure and will not be used. At the base of the tree there must be a snake hole inhabited by at least one snake to guard the daru. Furthermore, the 4 symbols of Lord Visnu, namely the conch, club, cakra and lotus flower must be clearly visible on the bark of the tree. All these elements must be present for the tree to be acknowledged as the sacred daru.

Sri Baladeva daru:

It must be white in color and have 7 branches stemming from the main trunk. The signs of a club and plow must be clearly visible on the bark. Once again, the tree must be guarded by a snake.

Sri Subhadra daru:

It must be yellow in color and have 5 main branches. Its bark will bear the sign of a yoni, a womb, and 5 lotus flowers.

Sri Sudarsana daru:  

It is recognized by its reddish color, 3 main branches and the sign of a disk.

After locating the trees, a fire sacrifice, is performed to invite the blessings of Lord Jagannatha's devotees, the devatas. For cutting down the tree there is a special procedure. First, the Pati Mahapatra-the descendant of the brahmana Vidyapati-touches the tree with a golden axe. Then the Dayitapati-the descendant of Visvavas-touches it with a silver axe. These golden and silver axes are not much bigger than toothpicks. Next the head wood-carver of the Maharana family-the descendant of Viśvakarma- touches it with an iron axe. Finally, the tree will be cut down with an ordinary axe. During these ceremonies the priests hold a curtain around the tree so that outsiders cannot see the procedure. As the tree is being cut down, 108 names of Lord Nrsimhadeva are chanted to invoke auspiciousness.

The branches of the tree are then removed and the trunk is bound with silken kandua and placed on a special four-wheeled cart. Manually pulling the cart, the priests and other devotees set out on the long trek back to Puri, which in 1996 was a distance of 80 kilometers. A large crowd of jubilant devotees greet them on their arrival in Puri with kirtana and recitation of Vedic mantras. The däru is then taken inside the temple to the koili vaikuntha through the Northern gate of the temple. 

For the next 31 days, until the sculptors have given the tree its new shape as Jagannatha, the daru will stay near the Elephant Gate on the north side of the temple compound, in a place called Koili Vaikuntha. Koili literally means "burial ground." It is at this place that the old Deities will be buried.

A New Form:

Carving of new deities commences from the day following snana purnima. The 3 eldest wood-carvers are chosen for carving Jagannatha. 3 others will carve Subhadra and 3 more Baladeva. In addition to this there are more than 50 assisting sculptors. The wood-carvers will stay alone at Koili Vaikuntha for the duration of the 21 day period. During this period they do not leave the temple, and no one, not even the head panda, is allowed to see their work. While they are in the Koili Vaikuntha area, they are not allowed to eat or sleep. Both of these functions are performed at the end of the day in another part of the temple compound. Throughout the time of carving, 24 hour bhajanas are performed and the priests chant Vedic mantras outside the door of Koili Vaikuntha.

Changing Bodies:

Upon completion of the carving, the new Deities are carried onto the altar and placed face-to-face with the old Deities. At this point no one is allowed to see them. 3 days before the ratha-yatra festival the most important and confidential ceremony of the nava-kalevara takes place. Sometime after the hour of midnight, the 4 eldest and most senior members of the Davitapati family come to the inner sanctum all alone. Blindfolded and with cloth bound over their hands, they will take what is called the nabhi-brahma or Brahma padartha out of the old Deity and place it in the new one. As no one is allowed to see or touch the nabhi-brahma, no one knows what it looks or even feels like. The nabhi-brahma is considered to be Lord Jagannatha's Life Force. It is said that if anyone were to look at it, they would immediately die. The pandas say that many years ago one of the priests looked at the nabhi-brahma and passed away at that moment. It is considered one of the greatest mysteries in regard to Lord Jagannatha."

Mourning For The Lord:

The transfer of the Deities is also considered to be a sad occasion, as the old Deity will no longer be seen. Lord Jagannatha is the head of the family for the Dayitapatis, so at the time of nava-kalevara they behave as if they have lost a loved one. Local tradition dictates that if someone dies the family members will not shave for ten days. Therefore, from the first day of the search party's departure, the Dayitapatis do not shave. They will also white wash their houses, as is the general practice in mourning the passing away of a loved one. After the transfer takes place, the old Deities are taken by the Davitapatis and buried before dawn somewhere in Koili Vaikuntha. Unmarked and unknown to any but select Dayitapati members, the exact location where the Deities are buried is the same place where all the previous Deities have been placed, one on top of another. On this night the government orders a complete blackout of all lights so that no one can possibly see, even from a distant rooftop, for it is said that if someone were to see the burial ceremony they would die.

From the 14th day of dark Ashadha to the 9th day of bright fortnight, different kinds of announcements are applied to the bodies of the images. Thereafter the rites of "Anabasar" are performed for the next 15 days and the deities are painted with prescribed colours.

The next day, with the new Deities sitting on the altar, the normal routine of worship is resumed after a break of 58 days. The public are not allowed to see the Lord for another 2 days until the day before the ratha-yātrā festival. 

When the deities give darshan to the visitors, it is known as Navayouvana. Large number of devotees visit the temple to see the new deities that day.

Lord Jagannatha is the only Deity who undergoes this periodic change of bodies. It is one of the many unique and wonderful pastimes the Supreme Personality of Godhead performs in Jagannatha Puri-where He pretends to be made of wood.