The Festival Of Colors Known As Dola Purnima, What Is The Reason behind The Celebration
Why is Dola Purnima celebrated? Today is the Pavitra day of Dola Purnima. Dola Melan is celebrated in every village. Dola Govinda will go from village to village and will play Holi in a colorful procession. On this occasion, there will also be games of wands in many places. On the occasion of Dola Purnima, various places are also playing games. Meanwhile, a special Nitikanti is being held in the temple today on the occasion of Dola Purnima.
Mahaprabhu will give darshan to devotees today in Rajarajeswar Besha or Suna Besha. For this, the temple administration has fixed a schedule. The administration has paid special attention to the orderly darshan of devotees in Suna Besha. On the occasion of Dola Purnima, the moving idols of Srijiu, Dola gobinda, Bhudevi, and Sridevi will be flown to the Dola Vedi by plane.
In Odisha, the Dola Yatra begins on Phagu Dashami. Its importance is closely linked to the propagation and spread of the Vaishnavism tradition. It is mainly celebrated as a festival to introduce love, goodwill and traditional friendship between villages, groups and individuals.
Why is this Dol Yatra festival celebrated?
Various mythological stories are associated with Dola. On the one hand, the magnificent rendition of the Radha-Krishna love story, and on the other hand, the interweaving of other mythological stories. The play of colors and the blaze of the Holika Dahan fire have both united the victory of the symbol of good luck over the evil forces with this festival. Apart from the love play of Shri Radha-Shri Krishna, Dola, and the game of colors, all other mythological stories are associated with this Dola-Holi joint festival. According to some, this festival was organized because God caused the death of the powerful demon Merdasur and reduced the amount of sin from the earth.
Dol Purnima Celebrating In Odisha:
According to the Odia calendar, the full moon day of the month of Phalgun is known as Dola Purnima. The Dola Yatra usually begins on the tenth day of the bright fortnight of Phalgun. The main deities of this festival are Radha and Krishna. The idols of Radha and Krishna are taken to almost every door of the village on a small plane accompanied by a mahadamba. Almost at every door, offerings are made to the deities, and the priest is also given happiness. The oblation offered at every door for the deities is called Dwari oblation. On the day of Dola Purnima, the deities are usually taken to a mandapa built in the southeast of the temple. That mandapa is called Dola Mandapa. While worshipping there, the deities play doli, and red oblation is offered there.
The entire Odisha region is filled with the excitement of the Dola Yatra from the beginning of the month of Phagu Dashami. In every village, the idol of the Radha Krishna temple or the Sri Jagannath temple is placed on a dola or a vivan, and the village parikrama begins, and the Thakurs go door to door to eat bhog.
Similarly, Dola Melan and Dola Mandap help in increasing the friendship between the Vaishnava devotees and the Peetha, along with the Shaiva Peetha. Dola Melan is usually organized at or near the Shaiva, Shakta, or other undisputed Peetha. There, the plane of Radha Krishna, who circumambulates and roams the village from evening to midnight, comes and stays there for five nights. Melan has its unique tradition, history, and naming in different parts of Odisha.
This Dola Melan is of three different types.
The Rajdola Melan of Phalguna, from the Dashami of the first day of the month of Phagu (the first day of the month of the month of Shukla) to the full moon of Phaguna.
The Panchudola Melan is 5 days, from the full moon of Phaguna to the 5th day of the month of Chaitra Krushna.
The Dasdola, a 10-day Melan, starts from the full moon of Phaguna to the 9th day of Chaitra Krushna. In fact, from this Rajdola festival, from the Dashami of Phagu, all the Vaishnava temples hang the idols of the couple of Sri Radha and Krushna on a swing or travel on a decorated chariot.
Like many festivals of Odisha, Dola Chacheri and Melan are a remarkable blend of both pilgrimage and local gathering. It is considered a grand festival of Sankirtan, Khola, and Kartal as the birthday of Sri Chaitanya. However, since the distinction between Sri Krishna and Sri Jagannath is established, some hanging mandapams and pithas are adorned with the image of Jagannath in place of Sri Krishna.
This festival is celebrated with great passion and devotion in Radha Vallabh and Haridasi sampradayas, where the idols of Radha Krishna are worshipped and given colors and flowers to begin the celebrations. In Gaudiya Vaishnavism, this event is even more significant as it marks the birth of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who is considered the combined avatar of Radha and Krishna. He was a renowned philosopher and saint who was instrumental in the growth of the Bhakt.
