Bhubaneswar: Besides worship of Goddess Durga during Dussehra, various traditions have been followed in different places of Odisha depending on the socio-religious practices being followed at the time when the puja was started. One such practice is worship of ‘lathis’ (batons) in Jeypore.
When Jeypore was ruled by kings, tribal headmen used to come here with their lathis during Dussehra. Those were kept in the Kanak Durga temple till the celebrations got over.
At the time, Dussehra used to be a grand affair for 16 days. The celebration in southern Odisha town was even compared to that of Mysore. With the end of zamindari system, the scale of Dussehra celebration in Jeypore has come down but the practice of lathi puja continues.
As per the legend, King Vijaya Chandrakshya, son of King Vinayak Dev of Jypore, had helped Gajapati Purushottam Dev of Puri during his Kanchi Abhijan. The Puri king had gifted Vijaya Chandrakshya an idol of Goddess Durga after he won the battle. This idol has been worshipped as Kanaka Durga.
It is said that during Dussehra, Jeypore king used to go to the town on an elephant after offering prayers at the Kanak Durga temple. He was followed by village headmen carrying ‘lathis’ to the Dussehra field where yagna was performed.
The village headmen used to collect land and forest revenue and gift those to the king every Dussehra. In return, the king gave special ‘Raj Bhent’ (royal gift) to them before Vijaya Dashami (10th day of Dussehra). After Dussehra, the tribals used to return to their villages with the lathis and worshipped those there again.
