Tree to Carve Jagannath Murti for Puri Jagannath Temple Nabakalebara Found at Kharipadia under Raghunathpur block in Jagatsinghpur District

The tree to carve Lord Jagannath Murti during Nabakalebara 2015 was found at Kharipadia Village under Raghunathpur block in Jagatsinghpur District in Odisha. Along with Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Sudarshan are the four important mutis worshipped at Puri Jagannath Temple.

During the Nabakalebara ritual, new murtis are carved and they replace the existing murtis worshipped in the Puri Jagannath Temple. 

The New Indian Express reports 

The holy Neem tree is located on the embankment of river Paika. There is a burial ground nearby. There are ant hills near the tree. Dasmohapatra said that the tree has the symbols of Shankha (conch), Chakra (wheel), Padma (lotus), Gada (mace) and Trishul. Apart from these, it bears the symbol of an elephant head. Prior to finalising the tree, the Banjagis visited the site six times and examined all the holy signs. The tree has four branches over the main trunk. 

Kharipadia village chief Krushna Chandra Mallick said the villagers had seen two snakes moving around the tree and two white owls sitting on its branches regularly, which are considered as good omen.