Puri: The annual sojourn of the Holy Trinity in Jagannath temple in Puri is scheduled for June 23 and the nine-day annual festival could be organised with minimum servitors and without devotees.
Lord Jagannath and his siblings Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra are adorned with Tahia (specially-made headgears) for the ceremonial procession on the occasion of Rath Yatra. The captivating scene of the crown or headgears of Lord Jagannath swinging and moving like waves, makes the heart of devotees skip a beat.
Using bamboo, cane, banana stem, and other colourful elements, the framework of the gorgeous headgears are prepared first. It is adorned with leaves like scutch grass, basil, mirabilis Jalapa and various fragrant flowers just before Rath Yatra day.
Before that, the Chitrakara servitors or painters of the temple add touches of organic colours to these crowns that the deities flaunt while coming out of the temple during Pahandi (ceremonial procession).
A total of 24 ‘Tahias’ are required to put on the heads of the deities during all their festivals. Altogether eight headgears are required for the decoration of Srimandir Trinity and Lord Sudarshan during the Snana Purnima ritual.
Servitors also put four Tahia on the deities during the Pahandi procession at Srimandir on the occasion of Rath Yatra. They also decorate the deities with four Tahia while carrying them from the chariots to Srigundicha temple.
"The headgears made of flowers add to the beauty of Srimandir deities. Authorities of city-based Raghab Das Mutt are traditionally entitled to supply headgears for deities. The making style of these ‘Tahias’ is unique. Coloured bamboo sticks, dry shells of banana tree, corks, lace, coloured clothes, sacred threads etc are used in the making of the 'Tahias', said, Suryanarayan Rathashrama, an eminent researcher on Jagannath culture.
"The captivating scene of the crown or tahia of Lord Jagannath swinging and moving like waves, makes the heart of devotees skip a beat. Traditionally, four headgears are required for the Pahandi procession of deities during Bahuda Yatra while there is need of another four Tahia for the Niladribije ritual at the culmination of Rath Yatra," Rathashrama said.
"A total of 14 artisans are engaged in the making process of the ‘tahias’. Tahia is the symbol of Lord Jagannath and his Acquaintance; when the Lord of the universe goes out on his annual sojourn," he added.
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