All Besha Of Shri Jagannath Mahaprabhu
Divine Beshas of Jagannath: Chandana & Kaliyadalana
Jan
Chandana Besha at Jagannath Temple
Chandana Besha, a significant ritual in the Jagannath Temple of Puri, is a 42-day-long festival celebrated during the Hindu months of Baishakha and Jyestha (roughly April-June). The word “Chandana” refers to sandalwood, and this Besha involves anointing the deities Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra with fragrant sandalwood paste. This cooling paste provides relief from the intense summer heat. The festival commences on Akshaya Tritiya, a highly auspicious day in the Hindu calendar.
The Chandana Yatra, which precedes the Besha, involves two distinct parts: Bahara Chandana and Bhitara Chandana. Bahara Chandana, meaning “outer sandalwood,” involves processions of the deities Madanmohan, Bhudevi, and Sridevi in decorated palanquins to the Narendra Tank. There, they engage in ceremonial boat rides and water sports for 21 days. Bhitara Chandana, or “inner sandalwood,” takes place within the temple premises, where the main deities are adorned with the sandalwood paste.
The preparation of the sandalwood paste is a meticulous process. Sandalwood logs are ground on stone slabs by special servitors over several days. The resulting paste is then mixed with fragrant herbs, flowers, and other aromatic ingredients. This fragrant mixture is then applied to the deities’ bodies, creating a visually stunning and spiritually uplifting spectacle. The Chandana Besha symbolizes purification, devotion, and the cooling grace of the divine. It is a time of great festivity and religious fervor, attracting thousands of devotees to Puri.
Chandana Besha brings together sandalwood, seasonal worship, seva, and devotion in a single visual tradition. For devotees, the cooling adornment expresses care for the deities while marking the summer cycle of worship at the Jagannath Temple.
