Daitapatis of Banajaga team began search of divine darus
Daitapatis of Banajaga Yatra team that had been camping at the Deuli Mutt in Kakatpur, since its arrival on April 2, began search of the divine darus (neem trees with special attributes used for carving of new idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Sudarshan for Nabakalebara Yatra) from yesterday.
Daitapatis on Sunday went in four directions from the Deuli Mutt in search of the ‘Darus’ after the divine prophesy from Goddess Mangala, the presiding deity of Kakatpur.
Daitapatis of the Banajaga team split into four groups and each group was headed by Badagrahi (body protector) of the four deities. While the Daitapatis were out in search of the Neem trees bearing holy symbols, the Swotrya Brahmins accompanying the Banajaga team stayed behind at the Kakatpur Mangala temple and performed Saptasati Chandi Patha besides chanting the Vedic hymns to make the search mission easier for the servitors.
Sources in the Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) said during the search operation, the Daitapatis came across a few Neem trees with symbols embedded on their trunks that appeared similar to those prescribed in Nabakalebara manual.
“But we cannot be sure about the actual trees on the first day. The Daitapatis will continue their search operation and a final call on the actual trees will be taken only after a meeting among themselves and the temple administration,” said an official of the SJTA.
