consecration Of The Idols

King Indradyumna was anxious to get performed the rituals of consecration as soon as possible, so he asked Narad--' I am not aware of the proper rituals that are employed in the consecration of an idol. I need your help in this regard.'Narad then made a list of articles required for the consecration of idols and instructed Indradyumna to make arrangements for all those items. He also instructed the king to get constructed a grand palace for Lord Brahma, who was supposed to arrive shortly to perform the consecration ceremony. Narad said--' Get constructed three chariots for all the three deities. The chariot meant for lord Jagannath should have a mast on its top with the figure of Garuda on it. Similarly, Balbhadra's chariot should have a mast with a plough drawn on it whereas Subhadra's chariot should have a mast with a beautiful lotus drawn on it. The number of horses pulling the chariots of Jagannath, Balbhadra and Subhadra should be Sixteen, fourteen and twelve respectively.'

It did not take much time to construct the three chariots as per the instructions given by Narad. Very soon lord Brahma arrived there, accompanied by all the deities, to perform the consecration of the four idols. On seeing Lord Brahma, Indradyumna's joys knew no bounds and he paid his obeisance to the creator. Lord Brahma said--' See how fortunate you are. All the deities and sages have come here to help you in your cause.'

Lord Brahma then performed the rituals of consecration on the auspicious day of ashtami of the bright half of the hindu month Vaishakh. The day was Thursday and the Nakshatra was Pushya.