Suna Besa

Sanjeev Hota

Day following the Bahuda Jatra, Mahaprabhu’s Suna Besha is a special event which takes place on the Ratha ; when Mahaprabhu Jagannath, elder brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra Devi are decorated with gold jewelry. It is also known as Rajadhiraja Bhesha or Raja Besha. It is observed on the day after the return of the Deities from Gundicha Temple. On the day of Bada Ekadasi, the 11th day of the bright fortnight in Asadha; the deities on their chariots themselves done the golden attire or the Suna Besha with hands, arms, and crown made of solid gold. This is the only occasion where Mahaprabhu and Siblings have the Suna Besa outside the temple on the Chariot.

As per the Madala Panji, Gajapati Kapilendra Deba won the battle against the Deccan rulers with the blessings of Lord Jagannath and Maa Jayadurga in the year 1460. He brought back tons of gold and other wealth on 16 elephants from the south. He donated all the wealth to Lord Jagannath.He expressed his desire to get ornaments made for the deities with the gold he brought from the south. He shared his views with Tadhau Karana,who was in charge of the gold. The Tadhau Karana requested His Majesty that since all devotees do not get the chance to have Darshan of most of the Beshas inside the temple, this Besha should be conducted on the chariots on the occasion of Bada Ekadashi, so that people regardless of religion can avail darshan of the deities. Kapilendra Deba agreed and from then, Suna Besha is being conducted on the chariots every year.

Generally, Suna Besha is observed five times during the year. It happens on Bijaya Dashami (in October), Kartika Purnima (November), Paush Purnima (December/January), Dol Purnima (March), and Asadha Ekadashi (July). The last Besha is observed on the chariot in front of Jagannath Temple, the other four Beshas are observed inside Jagannath temple on Ratna Singhasana.

After the Bahuda Jatra, the chariots of Balabhadra and Subhadra move forward and are parked at Lion’s gate (Singha dwara) of the temple . But the chariot of Jagannath again halts in front of the King’s palace.

In the meanwhile Maa Lakshmi steals a glimpse of the safe return of Jagannath’s chariot from the Chahani Mandapa. Being pleased Maa Lakshmi is carried to the chariot of Jagannath while sitting in the Palanquin. She is offered a loving garland which Lord Jagannath uses as loving souvenir from her partner. After receiving the garland Maa Lakshmi goes back to the Temple. This event facilitates Mahaprabhu Jagannath to make arrangement for his successful entry to the main Temple. On the day of Bahuda Yatra the Deities remain in their respective chariots parked in front of the main temple.

Suna Besa

Suna Besha, also known as Raja Besha or Rajarajeshwara Besha, is an event of the auspicious Rath Yatra, when Mahaprabhu Jagannath and other Bada Thakura Balabhadra, and Maa Subhadra are adorned with beautifully carved Gold jewellery and are loaded with precious stones and the yellow shine of the Gold from top to bottom. It observed on the day after the return of the Deities from Gundicha Temple, on Ashadha Shukla Ekadashi Tithi on the 11th bright fortnight in Asadha. Out of the 32 Bashas or forms of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra. Suna Besha is one of the most looked upon by the Devotees as it is done in the great chariots. This is also known as Bada Tadhau Besha. The deities, on their chariots itself, adore the golden attire or the Suna Besha, with hands, arms and crown made of solid gold.

The three deities are dressed in glittering gold on their respective chariots. This day is also known as ‘Suna Vesha’. The gold is stored at the temple’s bhandara ghar (treasury). The bhandara nikap priests (store in-charge), guarded by armed police men and temple officials, brought the required amount of gold from the bhandara ghar before 1 hour and handed them over to the puspalaka and daitapati priests on the chariots. The daitapati priests are responsible to decorate the Deities’ body with gold jewelry.

All the three deities are decorated with gold ornaments. Lord Jagannath and Balabhadra appear with hands and feet made of gold. Lord Jagannath holds a gold Chakra(disc) in his right hand and a silver conch in the left hand. Lord Balabhadra appears holding a gold plough in the left hand and a gold mace in the right hand.

The gold ornaments of the Lords are stored at the temple’s treasury known as Bhitara Bhandara ghara. The bhandara nikap priests or the store in-charge, guarded by armed policemen and temple officials, bring the required amount of gold from the bhandara ghar before 1 hour and handed them over to the puspalaka and daitapati priests on the chariots. The daitapati priests are responsible to decorate the Deities’ body with gold jewellery. The three deities are dressed in glittering gold ornaments on their respective chariots.

The following ornaments are used to decorate the Deities in Suna Vesha:

Suna Hasta – Golden Hand

Suna Payar – Golden feet

Suna Mukuta – Golden Crown

Suna Mayur Chandrika – A golden peacock feather used by Lord Jagannath as Sri Krishna head piece

Suna Chulapati – A golden ornament worn traditionally on the forehead to increase the beauty of the face

Suna Kundal – Golden earring of hanging round ball type

Suna Rahurekha – A half square shaped golden aura around the face of the deities

Suna Mala – Necklaces with Several Design made of gold. These include:

Padma Mala – Lotus Shaped

Sevati Mala – Shaped Like Small Sun Flower

Agasti Mala – Moon Shaped flower design

Kadamba Mala – Kadamba Flower Design (Round ball shape)

Kante Mala – Big Gold Beads Design

Mayur Mala – Shaped in Peacock feathers

Champa Mala – Shaped liked Yellow champa Flower

Suna Chakra – Golden Wheel

Suna Gada – Golden bludgeon

Suna Padma – Golden lotus

Rupa Sankha – A silver conch

According to the “Records of Rights”, the treasury has 150 gold articles comprising of three necklaces of 120 tola or 1.4 kg weight each of the limbs of hands and feets. Lord Jagannath and Balabhadra made in gold of 818 tola or 9.54 kg and 710 tola or 8.28 kg of weight. Also recorded are decorative crowns of the deities Jagannatha, Balabhadra and Subhadra in the order of 610 tolas or 7.12 kg, 434 tola or 5 kg and 274 tola or 3.2 kg of weight respectively. According to the temple sources, in the past, the total weight of the gold ornaments used to adorn the deities weighed more than 208 kg initially made in 138 designs. It is believed that whoever sees the Lord in Suna Besha gets free of all his bad Karmas. A huge number of the crowd can be seen in front of the temple to feel the power of Mahaprabhu on this day.