to continue the tradition. As the Phad gets worn or torn or becomes threadbare, a formal religious procedure is followed to decommission it. This procedure is called tandakarna in Hindi, which means to cool or remove its divine power. This is done by confining to the holy waters of the Ganges or Pushkar Lake. Bhopas Bhopa community in Rajasthan is considered to be of priest singers of Pabuji. They hail from the village of Pabusar(named after the hero of the epic) and are traced to the 16th century, though 14th century is also mentioned. It is also said that sweet water well was located in the village by Pabuji. They belong to the Nayak community, a Scheduled Caste community of Rajasthan. Phads are integral to the Bhopas' vocation and are considered the “epic qua religious service.” They perform this art form through a combination of folk singing and dancing interspersed with interludes to interact with the audience in front of a scroll or canvas, known as Phad or Par in Rajasthani that depicts the episodes of the narrative of the folk deity. The Phad functions as a 'portable temple.' The Bhopas carry the Phad traditionally and are invited by villagers to perform in their localities during times of sickness and misfortune. The Phads are kept rolled during transit. After reaching a village or town, the Bhopas erect the Phad between two poles under a shamiana (an open tent)in a suitable public place shortly after nightfall. The performance goes on throughout the night and terminates only towards dawn. Narration The narrative usually held by the Bhopas in the backdrop of Rajasthani deserts, is narrated by the poet-singers as a structured rendition of the epic story, called the Pabuprakasa, glorifying Pabuji as a divine being. The rendering is highly "stylized and formulistic in its narration". The text, which has a number of episodes, belongs to two different types namely, the parvaros and the sayls. The narrative of Pabuji, in particular, is recorded in the Khyata of Muhato Nainasi, a text with the title Vata Pabujiri. The entire narration relates to Pabuji and his heroic deeds. This epic, a courtly religious poem invoking Pabuji has 4,000 lines. Its recitation, from start to the end, takes full five nights of 8 hours duration from dusk to dawn; it is rarely fully recited now. The present trend of narration has many intermissions for taking tea,