Nabakalebara -- Sacred Wooden Logs for New Jagannath Idols HD Wallpaper
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About this image
Sacred wood wrapped in vermillion and garlands, waiting in the smoke-filled darkness for the transformation that will make it divine -- this is Nabakalebara, one of the most mysterious and powerful ceremonies in Hindu worship, when the wooden idols of Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra are replaced with new ones carved from specially selected Neem trees. The old idols are secretly buried within the temple precincts, and the new ones take their place. The Nabakalebara ceremony occurs at irregular intervals, typically every 12 to 19 years, determined by the occurrence of two Ashadha months (an extra month in the Hindu lunar calendar) in the same year. The search for the sacred Neem trees (daru) is itself an elaborate ritual. Teams of priests and temple officials travel to specific forests, guided by ancient texts that describe the signs of a divinely appointed tree: it must have four main branches, it must be near a cremation ground, an anthill, a snake hole, or a temple, and it must have specific marks on its bark. When the correct tree is found, it is felled with golden axes and brought to Puri in a procession. The carving of the new idols takes place behind closed doors in absolute secrecy. Only the Daitas -- members of a specific hereditary family -- are permitted to carve, and they are blindfolded during certain stages of the process. The most sacred moment is the transfer of the "Brahma Padartha" -- a mysterious object believed to reside inside the old idol -- to the new one. No one alive knows what the Brahma Padartha is. Download this HD wallpaper for devotional use.
