Wood for Lord Sudarshan's idol traced in Odisha

After a week-long search of daru (logs) for Nabakalebara of Lord Jagannath and his siblings, the Banajaga team has identified in a village on the outskirts of Bhubaneswarn the holy wood (Neem tree) to carve the idol of Lord Sudarshan.

Chief of Puri Shri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Suresh Chandra Mohapatra on Sunday said the daru was identified for Lord Sudarshan at the Gadakuntunia village in Balakati block late on Saturday night.

"The Banajaga Dalapati informed us about the identification of daru. Iron barricades have been erected around the Neem tree on the bank of Prachi river to ensure that the tree is not damaged and the devotees would be able to have a darshan of the daru from a safe distance," said Mohapatra.

He said the Dalapatis will inform the temple administration about the darus of other deities, including Jagannath, within two to three days.

The Banajaga Yatra is the expedition for search of wood from Neem trees for carving out new idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Sudarshan.

The last Nabakalebara took place in 1996.

Meanwhile, the Commissionerate Police of Bhubaneswar has made elaborate security arrangements as thousands of devotees thronged the spot to get a glimpse of the holy tree to be used in making the idol of Lord Sudarshan.

Police Commissioner R.P. Sharma said police would set up a temporary control room at the village where rituals would be conducted to cut the Neem tree.