History of Orissa from the Earliest Times to the British Period v2.c37.33

v2.c37.33

According to a third account this Rāmachandra was the son of one Vīra Behara of the Bhoi dynasty. It is stated that when the images of Jagannātha, Subhadrā and Balarāma were carried away to Bengal, one Visara Mahānti followed the image of Jagannātha to Bengal and recovered the holy relic or *Brahma-śarīra* from it. It is perhaps not generally known that some relic is kept in a hollow in the image of Jagannātha and this is placed in a new image, when the old one is changed, by a priest, who is blind-folded. The images of Jagannātha, etc., are made of *Nim* wood and require periodical renewal and at such times the holy object is taken from the old image and put inside the new. The story of the recovery of the holy object by Visara Mahānti may or may not be true. Rāmachandra seems to have made new images and installed them in the temple after producing the real holy relic or a faked one. Iconoclasts like Kālāpāhāḍ never leave their work of destruction incomplete, and, therefore, it is extremely difficult to believe that he left the wooden images partially burnt and thus permitted Visara Mahānti of Oṛiyā tradition to recover the *Brahma-śarīra*.