THE SUPREMACY OF DHARMA- KER PUJA- by Jishnu Dev Varma

By JISHNU DEV VARMA

Ker Puja is of very great significance in the heritage and history of Tripura.
The Royal Priest, Chantai, was also the keeper of the kingdom’s history . It was Raj Chantai Dhurlabendra , who first recited the Raj Mala ( chronicles of the kings of Tripura) at the request of the king Dhanya Fa ( Manikya).

The Raj Chantai held immense power in the history of Tripura. He was the head priest, the keeper of history and advisor to the king. The Raj Chantai named Raghupati even led the revolt against the monarch Gobinda Manikya and installed Nakshatra Rai , the younger prince as the ruler for some time.

But with marriages from other states other influences crept into the state and the power of the Chantai stood somewhat reduced to ceremonial functions.

During Ker Puja the king, the palace, his relatives and the capital were put under some sort of “Religious Curfew”. They stayed indoors wearing unstitched clothes. The Raj Chantai defined the boundary of the Ker by tying bamboo sticks barricading the area. Earlier The Ker was observed strictly where old ailing people, pregnant mothers etc were all shifted out of the Ker boundary. No one would be allowed to go in or out this ; once Ker was announced with the sound of a canon.

The most interesting aspect was that for one day each year that is Ker- the king handed over his kingdom to the Raj Chantai symbolically to reiterate that DHARMA Is ABOVE ALL. The Chantai ruled for a day as representative of the oldest deity of the Manikya’s ; Choudha Debta ( 14 Gods). It became a common saying amongst us that if anyone showed too much power, he was referred to jokingly as “ Chantai Raja “ – King for a Day.