The story behind Rasagola Divas, a sweet ending to the Grand Ratha Yatra
The festival doesn’t truly end until the Manabhanjana ritual, a ritual that sweetly binds faith, family and forgiveness. Read to know more
The iconic Ratha Yatra draws millions of devotees every year to Puri, who come to witness Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra embark on their ceremonial journey to Gundicha Temple, which is known as their aunt’s house.
However, the festival doesn’t truly end until the Manabhanjana ritual, a ritual that sweetly binds faith, family and forgiveness. This lesser known ritual which is a part of the Niladri Bije ceremony marks the end to the divine siblings’ journey.
The legend behind the Rasagola ritual
It is believed that during the nine day-Car festival (Nabadinatmaka jatra), Goddess Mahalakshmi, wife of Lord Jagannath, feels ignored. She’s left behind to look after the temple, while her beloved husband enjoys a festive vacation without her. So, when her husband returns, she wants to show that she is not happy.
When Lord Jagannath and his siblings return to the temple, they find the Jaya Vijaya Dawar locked by Mahalakshmi. She refuses to let Lord Jagannath enter until he apologizes to her.
Tradition says that he calms her with an offering of Rasagola, soft spongy cottage cheese balls soaked in sugar syrup. The sweet melts Mahalakshmi’s anger and she finally forgives him, allowing the divine siblings to enter the temple. This ritual is called Niladri Bije.
The ‘Sweet war’ for Rasagola
Given the traditional significance of the day and to popularize the sweet, the day is also celebrated as Rasagola Divas. The celebration was first started on July 30, 2015 on social media. A ‘sweet war’ then started between West Bengal and Odisha over rasagola. West Bengal claimed Rasgulla as its own. They further claimed that Naveen Chandra Das first made rasgulla in Calcutta in 1868 and said that the sweet belongs to Bengal. However, on July 29, 2009 the controversy was laid to rest with the Rasagola of Odisha getting the much coveted Geographical indication or ‘GI tag’.
For the people of Odisha, Rasagola Divas is not just about eating sweets, it is about celebrating the safe homecoming of Holy Trinity to Puri Srimandir but to rejoice a day called Rasagola divas, that shows a significant part of Odia culture to the whole world.
