Daru trees have been identified

The identification of daru (neem wood) for Nabakalebar ended today with the shortlisting of neem tress by the daitapatis. The Banajaga team is scheduled to meet tonight at Deuli mutt in Kakatpur following which the leader of the team will apprise Sri Jagannath Temple Administration about finalisation of darus.

The Banajaga Yatra team members identified around 112 neem trees during the course of their search by Wednesday (April 8), the search for neem trees that began on April 5 has come to an end.

From Thursday, senior members like  dalapati (team leader), upadalapatis (deputy team leaders), pati mohapatra, four badagrahis  and others  are visiting  locations where these neem trees are located to scrutinize these trees for the divine symbols on them and the other attributes as mentioned in the scriptures to decide if they are suitable for carving of the four idols. The scriptures/manual specify certain specific attributes that make a particular neem tree suitable for carving of the idol of each Lord apart from common attributes, which makes the zeroing in most difficult.

After being informed by the leader of Banajaga team, the SJTA will made the venue of daru public. While the daru of Lord Sudarshan will be announced first, the others will follow with a gap of seven days. The announcement of Lord Jagannath’s daru will be made at the end.

After the first announcement, which the temple administration hopes to make by 13th of this month, the daitapatis will leave for Sudarshan daru on April 14 night to conduct the ritual before cutting the wood.