The word niti in Oriya and Sanskrit
refers to a principle, a rule or a policy. But in the Temple, this word is used
in a more general sense, which signifies a particular religious rite. The nitis
in the Temple are elaborate and complex in nature. It involves a multitude of sevas and sevakas. These sevakas do
not receive any salary from the Temple Administration. On an average, 70 to 80
sevakas perform seva-puja (ritual services) every day. Each of them is entitled
to get a portion of the Raja bhoga or Kotha bhoga. This is called Khei of the
day. Sevakas in general are paid daily remuneration, which is known as
Purashkar (cash reward) according to the scales prescribed by the Managing
Committee of the Temple. Some sevakas get rewards both in cash and kinds. There
is also provision for special cash reward over and above the Purashkar. For
example, each year after the Ratha Yatra is over most of the nijogas and also
some individual sevakas use to get special cash rewards from the Temple
Administration for their satisfactory seva during the festival.
Nitis of the Temple can be broadly
divided into the following three parts: (1) Daily niti, (2) Occasional niti and
(3) festival niti. The fixed nitis are observed daily. Secondly, the periodic
or according to the specialty of certain days, months etc. or occasional nitis
are observed. In this context, mention may be made of some specific occasions
like Ekadasi (eleventh day of fortnight), Sankranti, Amavasya, Grahana
(eclipse), Nakshatra or any mishaps in the Temple. Thirdly, there are various
festivals observed through out the year, some outside the Temple like Snana
yatra, Ratha yatra, Chandana yatra etc. and some inside the Temple like Jhulana
yatra. Each sevaka has his specified duty to perform in these nitis having
terms and times specified. Various nitis that are observed in the Temple
commence at about 5.00 A.M. early in the morning every day and continues till
midnight. The daily nitis in short are described below.
Dwaraphita
and Mangala Alati :
Dwara means door or entrance and Dwaraphita means opening of doors and Mangala
alati refers to auspicious lamp offerings to the deities early in the morning.
As per the ROR, the doors of the Garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum) are to be
opened by 5.00 A.M. in the morning. In the months of Kartika
(October-November), Dhanu (December-January) and also on certain specific days,
the doors are to be opened much before 5.00 A.M. i.e. between 2.00 A.M. to 3.00
A.M. Five categories of sevakas namely (1) Bhitarachha Mahapatra, (2)
Pratihari, (3) Muduli, (4) Akhanda Mekapa and (5) Palia Mekapa are required to
remain present to perform this niti. As per the tradition, the doors are opened
after Bhitarachha Mahapatra examines the seals, placed on the padlocks on the
previous night by another sevaka known as Taluchha Mahapatra. On some days, it
becomes difficult to do Pahuda (niti related to closing of Temple doors after
the final niti is over at night) on account of extra nitis or delay in
completion of nitis. On such occasions, the question of dwaraphita in the
following morning does not arise and the nitis commence as usual only from
Mangala alati onwards.
The subsequent niti after Dwaraphita is Mangala alati. Bhitarachha
Mahapatra and two other Pushpalaka sevakas perform this niti standing below the
ratnavedi / ratnasinghasana. Talichha Mahapatra is entitled to perform this
niti in the absence of Bhitarachha Mahapatra. As per the tradition, Bhitarachha
Mahapatra or Talichha Mahapatra performs Mangala alati to Jagannath, Sudarsana,
Madhava, Sridevi and Bhudevi. It is worth mentioning that the Badachhata Matha
performs kirtan every day at the time of Mangala alati. Every day, in fact,
alati is performed seven times. These are (1) Mangala alati when camphor,
pithau and 21 bati are required for the purpose. This is performed by the
sevakas as mentioned earlier, (2) Sakala Dhupa Alati when camphor and 21 bati
are required and this alati is performed by the Pujapanda sevakas, (3)
Madhyahna Dhupa Alati when camphor and 21 bati are required and this alati is
performed by the Pujapanda sevakas, (4) Sandhya alati when camphor, 21 bati and
pithau are required and this alati is performed by the Talichha Mahapatra and
Palia Pushpalaka sevakas, (5) Sandhya Dhupa Alati when camphor and 21 bati are
needed and this alati is performed by the Pjapanda sevakas (6) Badasinghara
Dhupa alati when camphor and 21 bati/salita are needed and this alati is
performed by the Pujapanda sevakas and lastly (7) Pahuda alati when camphor and
pithau are required and this alati is performed by the Pushpalaka sevakas.