Kartik Purnima 2024

Bhubaneswar: On the occasion of Kartik Purnima, devotees float their boats placing betel leaves and nuts called ‘Boita Bandana’ in different ponds and rivers all over Odisha. To commemorate our traditional maritime trade people float toy boats on this day.

They hum ‘Aa Ka Ma Boi, Pana gua thoi…’ as they float their decorated boats in different ponds and rivers early in the wee hours of the morning resembling the time our forefathers used to cross the sea and go on trade to Java, Sumatra, Bali. People then visit different temples and pray for the prosperity and the well-being of their families.

People wake up early, take bath, get dressed in their best of clothes and visit different ponds with their toy boats made of paper or banana stems for Kartik Purnima. Also known as Rasa Purnima, it marks the end of the month of Kartik, when Odia families refrain from consuming non-vegetarian food for a month after which they celebrate ‘Chada Khai’ to resume non-vegetarian food.