Puri Temple Observes Nagarjuna Besha of Lord Jagannath and Siblings After 26 Years

Nagarjuna Besha 2020 | Lord Jagannath Temple located in Odisha’s Puri is famous as being the only temple dedicated to this avatar of Lord Krishna, sitting along with siblings Lord Balarama and Goddess Subhadra. In one of the rarest of the rarest happenings, the temple priests are holding the Nagarjuna Besha for Lord Jagannath and his siblings on Friday. The ritual is being conducted after a long gap of 26 years. Nagarjuna Besha was last observed at the Lord Jagannath Puri Temple on November 16, 1994.

According to the local media reports, the Dwara Phita ritual was scheduled to be held at 2.45 am on Friday, followed by other important rituals. These include Bhitara Sodha, Mangala Alati, Mailam, Tadapalagi, Naga Besha and Abakasha Niti, all to be concluded by 4.30 am. It was reported that the Nagarjuna Besha rituals were delayed, and initiated later at 7am.

Due to the restrictions in place due to COVID-19 pandemic, the devotees couldn’t take part in the much-anticipated event. Usually, the event is marked in the presence of a large crowd, who pray to Lord Jagannath for happiness and well-being for all.

To ensure that no devotee breaks the Covid-19 rule by visiting the temple, the Puri administration imposed Section 144 around the temple premises. Restrictions on the movement of vehicles in order to avoid large crowds to gather at a place were put in place.

What is Nagarjuna Besha?

The Nagarjuna Besha ritual takes place during the Panchuka or the last five days of the holy month of Kartik. The ritual happens once in many years and marks a six-long festival. To observe it, the three deities are dressed in golden clothes and decorated with 16 types of traditional weapons. These include trishul (trident), hal (plough), chakra (wheel), musala (mace), arrows and bows, to mark the slaying of Shahasrajuna by Lord Parasurama.

The deities are worshipped while being dressed in the besha or avatar of a warrior like Parasurama, who is also an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

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