Jagannath Temple, Puri – Suna
Besha
Suna Besha, also known as
Raja or Rajadhiraja Besha or Raja Besha or Rajarajeswara Besha, is an
event when the Lord Jagannath and other deities Balabhadra,
and Goddess Subhadra are adorned with gold
jewelry. Suna Besha is observed 5 times during a year. It is commonly
observed on Magha Purnima (January),
Bahuda Ekadashi also known as Ashadha Ekadashi
(July), Dusshera (Vijayadashami) (October), Karthik
Purnima (November), and Pousa Purnima (December). The name Suna
Bhesha is derived from two words, 'Suna' meaning "gold" and 'Bhesha'
meaning "costume".
While one such Suna Bhesha event
is observed on Bahuda Ekadashi during the Rath
Yatra on the chariots placed at the lion's gate (also called Singhadwara;
the other four Beshas are observed inside the temple on the Ratna
Singhasana (gem studded altar). On this occasion gold plates are decorated
over the hands and feet of Jagannath and Balabhadra; Jagannath is also adorned
with a Chakra (disc)
made of gold on the right hand while a silver conch adorns
the left hand. However, Balabhadra is decorated with a plough made of gold
on the left hand while a golden mace adorns
his right hand.
History:
According to temple history,
Suna Besha was introduced during the era of King Kapilendradeva in 1460
A.D. When the king Kapilendradeva (1434-1466 AD)
returned home triumphant after winning wars over the rulers of the Deccan (Southern
India) he brought a huge bounty which was carried in 16 cart loads. The
trophies which he collected consisted of diamonds and gold. The day he arrived
in Puri he
donated all the booty to the Lord Jagannath. He instructed the temple priests
to get ornaments crafted out of the gold and diamond he had donated to adorn
the deities on the occasion of the Ratha Yatra festival. Since then the
deities, Jagannatha, Balabhadra and Subhadra are decorated with this jewelry
after the Bahuda Yatra.
Suna Besha:
During the 10th bright
day of the month of Aswin (October) on Vijayadashami or
Dussehra day, Lord Jagannath is fully bedecked as an emperor with all gold
jewelry. On the 12th Shukla
paksha day of the month of Ashadha, after returning from the
Ratha Yatra to the main Jagannath Temple, also known as Srimandir, the three
deities are adorned with gold ornaments. Again, on the full moon day of
the Kartika (November) the deities are
decorated with gold ornaments.
On the full moon day of Falguna (March)
also the deities are worshiped when gold ornamentation is done. A day after the
Suna Besha event Lord Jagannath and other deities are formally offered a
concoction of a sweet juice, known in local usage as Adharapana, which is a
mixture made of milk, cream, cottage
cheese, plantain pulp, grated
coconut, nabata (brown sugar spiced with camphor),
nutmeg and black
pepper.
The juice is offered as a token
to the lips of the deities deified in their individual chariots to break their
fast or Ekadasi.
Following this ritual, the terracotta vessel with its contents is broken which
is done to appease guardian deities (demi-gods)
of the three chariots and the gods deified therein. Devotees assembled at the
venue jostle to collect a small quantity of this juice as prasada(gracious
gift of god).
Ornaments:
The gold ornaments are stored at
the temple’s treasury known as Bhitara Bhandara Ghara. According to the
"Records of Rights", the Bhandara (store) has 150 gold articles comprising
three necklaces of
120 tolas (each
tola is equivalent to 11.33980925 grams) weight each, limbs (hands and feet) of
Jagannatha and Balabhadra made in gold of 818 tolas and 710 tolas weight. Also
recorded are decorative crowns of the deities Jagannatha, Balabhadra and
Subhadra in the order of 610 tolas, 434 tolas and 274 tolas in weight. The
estimated value of these ornaments is said to run into several million crores.
The security of all the jewelry rests with the Temple Police force, which is
controlled by the Temple Managing Committee.
When the jewelry is brought out
for decorating the deities in the chariots, armed policemen accompany it along
with a minimum of 25 storekeepers. Except the priests and the servitors no one
else is allowed to remain on the chariots for security reasons. Devotees get
a Darśana or
a vision of the Suna Besha of the deities from a certain distance. According to
the temple sources, in the past, the total weight of the gold ornaments used to
adorn the deities weighed more than 208 kg initially made in 138 designs.
However, now only 20-30 designs are used.
The designs of the gold
ornaments that are used to decorate the deities are known
as: hasta (hand); payar (feet); mukuta (tiara or
large crown); mayur chandrika, a peacock feather design which was used as
head decoration by Lord Krishna; chulapati (a forehead
costume which highlights facial beauty); kundal (hanging
ear-rings); rahurekha, a half square shaped decorative adorned across the
face of the deity; malas or necklaces of various types such as padam (lotus), sevati (small
sun flower), agasti in the shape of moon flower; in
a kadamba flower shape, kante (large gold
beads), mayoor in the form of peacock feathers, and champa, a yellow
flower; Sri chita representing the third eye of the deities; chakra or
wheel; gada or mace; padma a lotus flower;
and shankh or
conch.
The chita or Sri Chita
decorative ornament, which denotes the third eye of gods, is represented
separately for each of the deities; Lord Jagannath’s forehead is affixed with
a diamond and
Goddess Subhadra’s forehead is decorated with an emerald (panna).
These forehead ornamentations are removed when the deities are brought out
during the Deb Snana Purnima.
They are then redecorated when the deities return to the sanctum, in the Chitra
month on Amavasya day
(new moon day).
Painting:
A very large painting
called patta Chitra of depicting Lord Jagannath in Suna Besha which
is of 10.5x6.5 ft size was put on display in Puri during the Bahuda Yatra.
The painting has been done by Saroj Behera, Pankaj Behera, Prasanna Sahoo,
Bichitra Rana and Priyanka Parida. It is made on a pure cotton cloth treated
with a mixture of kainya seeds and chalk, and then painted with
vegetable colours. It is one of the largest such painting and has received wide
appreciation from people visiting the Ratha Yatra.
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