During the celebration of different festivals at Puri Jagannath temple, the deities (Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra) change their dresses and put on different categories of ceremonial costumes or dresses according to the nature of the festival. Here is a look at the Vaman Besha and Raja Besha of Jagannath at Puri temple.
On Bhadra Shukla Dwadashi tithi (the 12th day of the waxing phase of moon in Bhadrapad month), Shree Jagannatha is dressed like Vamana, the dwarf incarnation of Vishnu. According to the Puranic story, Bhagavan Vishnu had appeared in the form of a dwarf and through his ingenuity, outwitted the famous Jing Bali and pushed him down to the netherworld with his foot. Jagannath appears on the day in the form of Vamana Avatar.
Raja Besha takes place on Vijaya Dasami tithi (Dasara) in the month of Aswina. The word Raja means the ‘king’. Hence, this besha denotes the dress of a sovereign. Shree Jagannatha is regarded as the King of Odisha since the rule of Ganga dynasty and this Besha of Shree Jagannatha continues from those days. Jagannath is dressed up like a sovereign king on the day.