Jagannath Vesha

   August 11, 2013

jagannatha

About Sri Jagannath Mahaprabhu

Sri Jagannath Krishna, His brother Sri Balabhadra Deva and His sister Sri Subhadra are worshipped in Puri in the famous Vishnu temple. Depending on the Vedic Date (Tithi), the deities adorn different Vesha. The word ‘Vesha’ means FORM and can be loosely translated as outfit or costume. The dais on which the three deities are seated is called the Ratnavedi Simhasana. Ratna refers to the gems and precious stones as well as 108 conches of various auspicious markings which are embedded on the dais. The three deities are dressed in different outfits for different occasions starting with the Mangala Arati (the first prayer offered in the Brahma Muhurta or early hours at about 4.00 AM). The last prayer is the Ratri Pahuda. Some of the important occasions for special Vesha are as under.

  • Abakasha Vesha -
    Costume Of Lord JagannathOn each and every day, the Abakash Besha (vesha) of Sri Lord Jagannath is made soon after completetion of Mangala Arati & Mailam.
    The schedule time of this Besha is between 6 AM to 6:30 AM . The morning brushing of teeth and procedure of bathing of deities is known as Abakash. It is said that this abakasha vesha has been inducted into the daily rituals by Acharya Sankara i.e. Adi Shankara, in the 9th century B.C.
  • Badasrunghara Vesha -
    This is a very beautiful vesha. It is done before the night time 'pahuda', when the deities can take rest. Simply stated, it is the 'night dress' of Jagannath and siblings Balabhadra and Subhadra.
    It is therefore the vesha the deities appear in the following morning, for mangala arati.
    This vesha is mostly made of different kinds of flowers.
  • Radha-Damodara Vesha -

    राधा (rādhā) means various things and people

    prosperity and success and refers to the completion of karma related to birth thereby becoming eligible for mokṣa which marks the real success
    it refers to the 21st Nakṣatra Uttara Āsāḍha which houses 14/15 parts of the intercalary nakṣatra Abhijit which is the seat of Hari (Nārāyaṇa, Jagannāth). The two nakṣatra 20th Pūrva Āsāḍha and 21st Uttara Āsāḍha are parts of the dharma bhāva along with Mūla nakṣatra in Dhanus (Sagittarius) Rāśi.
  • Graha Rūpī Janardana - The navagraha have been accepted by the kāliṅga people as nine incarnations of Jagannāth. № Jagannāth Jayadeva Parāśara Graha 1...