JAGATSINGHPUR: Devotees on Monday started making beeline to offer puja to the Neem trees in different places of the district visited by Banajaga team in their search for the ‘Darus’ (holy Neem trees) to carve out the idols of the Trinity of Jagannath temple in Puri for Nabakalebara festival. On Sunday, the Banajaga team indicated that the ‘Darus’ have been identified in Jagatsinghpur district.
Sources said in their list of 118 Neem trees submitted to Shri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), members of the Banajaga team have included the ‘Darus’ at Kharipadia village of Raghunathpur block, Sarala temple in Kanakpur under Tirtol and Nilakantheswar temple in Adhang under Biridi block. The SJTA would make the announcement on the final three ‘Darus’ for the Trinity in a few days, said Chief Administrator of SJTA Suresh Chandra Mahapatra on Sunday.
The Banajaga team led by Daitapati Jagannath Swain Das Mohapatra located a ‘Daru’ at Kharipadia village under Raghunathpur block. The tree has signs of conch shell, wheel, mace and lotus. After verifying the holy symbols of the tree for three times, the team has advised the devotees not to touch the tree and barricades have been erected around it. Expecting that the tree would serve as ‘Daru’ of any one of the idols, the locals have started to throng the place and offer puja.
Another Banajaga team led by Daitapati Durga Das Mohapatra identified the Neem tree in front of Sarala temple in Kanakpur under Tirtol block and found the holy symbols on it. A servitor of the temple Ranjan Kumar Raul hoped that the tree would finally be selected for making the idol of a deity. “It is more than 100 years old and people have been worshipping it since long. On several occasions, snakes have been spotted near it,” he said.
Similarly, another Banajaga team led by Chandrasekhar Das Mohapatra visited Nilakantheswar temple of Adhang under Biridi block and identified the Neem tree near it on Sunday. The tree also bears the holy symbols prescribed in Nabakalebara manual. The locals have been advised to erect ‘pindi’ at the spot for its protection.
Devotees in large number from Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Cuttack and Jajpur districts have started visiting the three places.
However, Collector Satya Kumar Mallick said the district administration is yet to receive any information about the selection of three ‘Darus’ in the district. After declaration, steps would be taken for their protection, he added.