For the first time, the Nabakalebar rituals (transformation of souls of lord Jagannath, lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and lord Sudarshan to new bodies) were conducted at the 800-year-old Kukurjangha Jagganath temple in Hirma gram panchayat in Jharsuguda district on Tuesday.
Notably, the Nabakalebar in the temple had not been done ever since its construction way back in May 1215 after the Trinity had been discovered beneath earth at Beherapali village.A committee was formed at Kukurjangha village to ensure smooth conduct of the rituals. Apart from installation of the Trinity, the Purnahuti and Patalikaran were witnessed by thousands of devotees from Jharsuguda and neighbouring Sambalpur and Sundargarh districts as well as from Chhattisgarh.The temple has been functioning as per the Mutt culture.