Nabakalebara is one of the grandiloquent events associated with the Jagannath temple of Puri. It is a unique Hindu religious festival in many respects, which is beyond normal human perception. Nabakalebara literally means—naba or new and kalebara or body—new body. The new images take the place of old images and the old images are discarded and buried under the ground. This is Nabakalebara for Jagannath, the Lord (Natha) of the Universe (Jagata). In conformity with the belief that Lord Jagannath is truly a ‘Living Deity’ with an astonishingly ingenuous human touch, He moves through the life cycle of death and birth sequences shedding His old body and getting into the new one in a remarkably unique and mystic ceremony.
Nabakalebara takes place during the Adikamasa (intercalary month) of Ashadha, when two lunar months of Ashadha fall in one year, as per the Hindu almanac. Such a rare occasion usually occurs once in 12 years, but the gap may range from 8 to 19 years. In the 20th century, Nabakalebara was celebrated in 1912, 1931, 1950, 1969, 1977 and 1996. This millennium’s first Nabakalebara festival is being held in 2015. Elaborate rituals, numerous myths and several celestial incidents are attached to this auspicious fair which fans religious fervour across Odisha.
The present volume is a humble attempt in making available to general readers a lucidly written and well illustrated book on this festival. The book covers the event in all its complexity and will be useful to both specialists as well as lay readers.
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