Bhubaneswar: In observance of Kartik Purnima, the full moon day of the sacred month of Kartik, people in Odisha rose early on Monday, had baths, and went to temples. Then, to celebrate the 1,000-year-old Boita Bandana boat festival, they gathered near bodies of water and built afloat boats out of paper and banana stems. They then filled the boats with lit lamps (diya), betel leaves, flowers, milk, supari, cracker fruits, and cash.
Large congregations were seen at water bodies across the state. Devotees floated boats in many places of pilgrimage like Puri Mahodadhi, Tirth Pushkarini, Bhubaneswar Bindusagar, Cuttack Nipatha, and Dasvashmedh Ghat in Jajpur. On the other hand, on the occasion of the holy Kartik Purnima, there is a heavy crowd of devotees in Puri Srimandir for the darshan of Lord Jagannath and his deity siblings. On this occasion, the Lord gives darshan to the devotees in Rajrajeswari besha or in the form of a king.
According to Puri SP Kanwar Vishal Singh, more than 60,000 devotees had darshan of the Lord since last night as the temple was open throughout the night on Sunday. “The rush is expected to be more on Monday but we have made adequate arrangements to deal with the situation and ensure that every devotee has proper darshan of the Lord, said Singh. The police have deployed 69 platoons of force and 200 officials to manage the crowd. In addition, volunteers have formed human chains to guide the devotees inside the temple.
Boita Bandana is a community celebration honoring the marine prowess of the Odisha people, formerly known as the Kalinga. Historically, traders from Kalinga traveled to far-off places like Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, mostly to trade with Java, Sumatra, and Bali. According to some, this is also an ancient tradition to offer prayers to the ancestors.
Men used to travel by boat over the waterways to trade in Indonesia in the past. Families, particularly their wives, used to rise early in the morning to pray for their protection. They would also launch a toy boat as part of a ceremony. The practice of floating the little boat is still carried out.
People fast from non-vegetarian food for the whole month of Kartik, with the final five days known as “Panchkula” and Kartik Purnima on the last day being the most sacred. The Kartik Purnima also marks the end of the holy Kartik month.
Because of the consistent wind flow during the auspicious month of Kartika, long-distance boat sailing is deemed safe. In the past, people would pray for the safety of traders and display toy boats as a sign. The custom is being carried forward even today.
