New Embodiment

Navakalevar

Overview

In Orissa, on the eastern coast of India, the temple of Jagannath in Puri is an ancient center of pilgrimage for Hindus. Over the centuries, they have flocked there to worship Vishnu in the form of Jagannath, Lord of the Universe, seated in the temple with his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra. These well-known icons are of tribal origin, made of painted wood. Every year the deities are carried out of the temple for the car festival and suffer the subsequent wear and tear. In a cycle of twelve or nineteen years their bodies are replaced with identical new ones fashioned out of neem logs. This event is known as Navkalevar.