Nabarangpur: Sacred neem wood for the idols of Lord Jagannath and the Chaturdha Murti (four deities) has been selected from Dahna village in Nandahandi block. The selection was done for the newly constructed Jagannath temple in Kumuli village of Borigumma block in Koraput district.
Earlier, the sacred neem tree was identified near the Shri Balunkeshwar temple in Dahna village, particularly close to the farmland of Satyanarayan Rath, situated along the route from Dahna to Jhariaguda village. Members of the temple construction committee of Kumuli village informed the local villagers about the selection of the tree and sought their permission for carving the idols.
A team of Vishwakarma craftsmen from Puri arrived and confirmed the suitability of the tree, citing essential spiritual signs such as proximity to the Balunkeshwar temple, a sacred pond (pushkarini), a cremation ground (shmashan), and divine symbols like the conch (shankha), discus (chakra), mace (gada), and lotus (padma) found in the tree’s texture or surrounding.
As per the instructions of the Puri Vishwakarma, committee members including Debendra Tripathy, Ganeshwar Mahapatra, Harihar Pattnaik, Balakrishna Shadangi, Manoj Tripathy, Madhuri Mohan Hota, Neelakantha Hota, Bhawani Prasad Hota, and Gaurishankar Shadangi sought formal invitation and permission for the idol carving.
In the absence of Sharata Chandra Tripathy’s son, the sacred neem tree was ritually bound with cloth and sanctified through traditional Vedic procedures before it was ceremonially felled. During the sacred Banajaga Yatra and tree-cutting ritual, Panchanan Hota of Kumuli and his wife Pushpanjali Hota performed the homa (fire ritual), guided by head priest Sharata Chandra Tripathy and assisted by Shiva Prasad Mishra, Soumya Kanta Tripathy, and Prakhar Prajna Satapathy.
Residents of Dahna village provided all necessary support for the event. A community feast (anna prasada) was also arranged for devotees by the villagers of Dahna. After the idols of the four deities are carved, a date will be set for the temple’s consecration ceremony, as informed by the Jagannath Committee of Kumuli village.
Prominent figures attending the event included former MLA Sadashiv Pradhani, District Council President Motiram Nayak, former Nabarangpur District Congress President Munna Tripathy, Nandahandi Block Chairperson, Zilla Parishad member of Nandahandi Zone-2 Arun Mishra, and Zilla Parishad member from Tentulikhunti Ratikant Panda.
Notable contributors to the Banajaga Yatra from Dahna village included Satyanarayan Rath, Sharata Chandra Das, Pradeep Tripathy, Runa Das, Gaur Hari Satapathy, Paresh Chandra Das, Jeevan Tripathy, Srichakra Das, Neelamadhav Shadangi, Shishir Das, Ramesh Tripathy, Rameshwar Rath, Sameer Das, Rajesh Das, Abinash Satapathy, Ambika Das, and Subrat Das.
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