Celebrating Maritime Glory Of Odisha With Boita Bandana, Bali Jatra

Bhubaneswar: Kartika Purnima, the full moon day of the Hindu holy month of Kartika, was observed with much fanfare with Boita Bandana (boat festival) across Odisha on Friday.

It marked the end of the month-long ‘habisha’ and five-day ‘Panchuka’.

At the crack of dawn, men, women and children across coastal Odisha headed for the nearest water body to take a holy dip and set afloat toy boats made of paper and banana stem with lamps, betel leaves, crackers, fruits and coins.

Boita Bandan is a mass commemoration of the maritime glory of erstwhile Kalinga, when Sadhabas (Odia mariners) sailed to distant lands of Bali, Java, Sumatra, Borneo (all in Indonesia), and Sri Lanka for trade and cultural expansion and women of the community gave them a hearty send off.

In Bhubaneswar, people flocked to the banks of Daya and Kuakhai rivers and Bindusagar in the morning. Gadagadia ghat in Cuttack and Mahodadhi in Puri witnessed similar scenes.

People also offered prayers at Lingaraj Temple in Odisha capital and Jagannath Temple in the Pilgrim Town.

Taking to Twitter, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik wished people on the auspicious occasion.

Kartika Purnima also heralds the beginning of Bali Jatra in Cuttack, the largest open-air fair in the world.

A lot of rituals and festivals culminate on this day, which makes it all the more significant.

It is a practice among Odias to give up non-vegetarian food such as fish, meat and egg during the entire month of Kartika, the eighth lunar month as per the Hindu calendar that is considered the holiest among them all. Some make it a five-day affair, beginning Panchuka till Kartika Purnima. There is a popular proverb in Odia, which says that even fish-hunting crane does not touch fish during these five days.

Some believe the tradition is meant to offer prayers to the ancestors and seek their blessings.

Kartika Purnima also marks the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Devji, the founder of Sikhism.