Kendrapada: The grand old Durga Puja, started by the King of Kanika in 1718 at Rajnagar, is celebrating its 308th year of festival this year.
Going down memory lane, a researcher said the puja at Rajnagar has a rich past. In 1718, Raja Bairaji Bhanjadeo started performing Durga Puja after an outbreak of cholera claimed many lives in Rajnagar and nearby areas. The King’s palace was at Righagada, which was near Rajnagar, he said.
“Rajnagar is one of the oldest and most revered pujas in the district. Every year, a large number of devotees visit the place and seek blessings from Goddess Durga,” he said. Scion of Kanika royal family Shivendra Narayan Bhanjdeo said his ancestors had started the puja in the village. “This Dussehra, we are celebrating the 308th year of Rajnagar Durga Puja,” he added.
After the puja, devotees immerse Maa Durga following a procession on boats in Hansua river. Boatmen, priests and devotees oar the boats near the bank from one riverside village to another while hundreds of locals offer coconuts and garlands to bid farewell to Maa Durga, informed secretary of Rajnagar Maa Durga Puja Committee Pravat Chandra Mishra.
Taking the deities on boat rides on the immersion day is an age-old tradition at Rajnagar, said Jagannath Das, a local. Many rivers and creeks are intertwined in Rajnagar area. As there were no bridges earlier, people used to take the idols on boats during immersion procession. Even though the area is now well connected with pucca roads and bridges, villagers organise the procession to preserve the past tradition, he said.
In the past, many devotees used to swim towards the boats to touch the idols of Maa Durga. “But for the last 20 years, few dare to enter the water as the river is replete with many saltwater crocodiles,” he said and added that Hansua is linked with the water bodies of Bhitarkanika National Park. Crocodiles often stray from the park areas to Hansua, Das said.
Over the years the puja has undergone changes and buffalo sacrifice, once performed at midnight on Maha Ashtami, was discontinued following opposition to the practice. A water gourd is now offered symbolically in its place, reflecting the evolution of the ritual.
The annual ceremonies are performed by 11 priests in accordance with the prescribed rites from Bilwabarana to the Goddess’s ceremonial farewell.
Another distinctive feature of the festival is the clay idol of Maa Jayadurga. Scholars have described the idol’s form as unique and rare in the state. The Goddess is worshipped beneath a three-tiered decorative structure at the puja mandap.