Description of Raghunath Besha from Utkala Deepika , 1905 edition .
In 1905, April 27 Baisakha Krishna Navami(the specific tithi had Pusya Nakshetra according to Hindu Calendar ) , Thursday Mahaprabhu Shri Jagannath was adorned in the divine Raghunath Besha . After Madhyan Dhupa , the besha started and after Sandhya Dhupa Sahana Mela was done for general Public .
During that time 50 – 60 thousand devotees were present inside the Shrimandir from which most of them were Odia people and the rest were Bengali and from different parts of India .
The Darshan of this divine Besha started at 10pm .
In this divine Besha , Badathakura Shri Balabhadra was adorned as Laxmana while Mahaprabhu Shri Jagannath was adorned As Shri Ram .
Beside Jagannath Bharata and Shatrughna was seen standing with Chamar and Chatri . On the right of Balabhadra Bramha and Vashistha was seen . On the lap of Mahaprabhu Shri Jagannath , Sridebi was sitting as Sita and Hanuman was seen sitting infront Mahaprabhu Shri Jagannath with folded hands.
A thin plank of wood attached to the ratna singhasan was kept on which Angada , bivisana , jambaban , nala , nila ,gabaya , gabakya was seen . Maa Subhadra was also adorned in an attire . Ram (Shri Jagannath) & Laxmana (Shri Balabhadra) were holding bow and arrow along with hara ,bala , baju with a nose ornament called Naka Dandi attached to the nose of the deties. The inner sanctum (Garba Gruha ) was decorated like a royal palace.
In the same year , this besha was again repeated in 3rd of May and many devotees along with the Royal family had darshan of this divine attire of Mahaprabhu.
** As per some source it is said that the besha was 1st started by Gajapati Ramachandra Deva during the 16th century . It was done on the day which had Pushya Nakhsetra according to the Hindu calendar. This besha was mostly done on Baisakha Krishna Navami / Dasami based on the Nakshetra .
This Besha is conducted on the last day of Sahi Jaata,which means that is conducted on the same day,on which Ramaviseka ritual is conducted near Shri Raama,the representative deity of Shri Jagannath.
We can also take it as an assumption ,that when Goswami Tulasi dasa visited Shrikhetra , he visited Shrimandir . But he was shocked to see the Bigrahas at the Ratna Singhasana . He found the Mahaprabhu without hands, feet and thought this could not be his mesmerizing Shri Rama. Deeply anguished, he came out of the temple and sat down the tree.
With a hectic journey , Goswami was very hungry . All of a sudden he could hear a voice of a young boy offering him Mahaprasad . But Goswami refused to have it as he and said he would not consume the food, prior to his own offering to his deity Shri Rama.
The Young boy explained him the Greatness of Shrikhetra and Mahaprabhu Shri Jagannatha. After listening to words of the young boy , Goswami Tulasi Das once again visited Shrimandir during the evening . When he entered the Jagamohana , he found Mahaprabhu adorned as Shri Rama .
On witnessing the deities adorned in Raghuanatha Besha on the Ratnasinghasana,Goswami Tulasidas exclaimed,
“बिनु पद चलइ सुनइ बिनु काना l
करम बिनु कर्म करइ बिधि नाना ll
आनन रहित सकल रस भोगी l
बिनु बानी बकता बड़ जोगी ll”
Jay Jagannatha
Mistry 