In August 2025, an 18-foot creature from Odisha's Mahabharata stood 700 feet from the Man at Burning Man — and breathed fire.

Navagunjara Reborn was a year in the making: nine animal forms fused into one mythological being, handcrafted by master artisans across Odisha, India — sculpting with dhokra bronze cast figurines by Rajesh Moharana, cane work by Ekadashi Barik, sabai grass weaving, pattachitra painting, kotpad textiles — then engineered, shipped across an ocean, and raised on the playa through three storms by a volunteer crew. Thousands of people stood under it at night as it breathed fire. It was built on a Burning Man Honoraria grant, crowdfunding, and the artists' own commitment. We documented the whole journey in an open-access paper, so the artisans' names and methods are permanently on record.

Then, during teardown, several irreplaceable pieces were stolen from our staging site — including the metal human arm that held the creature's torch. The theft is documented with the Pershing County Sheriff's Office. The loss was real.

In 2026, Navagunjara returns — reborn with a dragon's head. The surviving crafts go back to the playa as a tribute: the same creature, transformed, the way the myth always said it would be. The dragon — itself a nine-animal composite in Chinese tradition — joins Odisha's nine-formed god in a single being. One myth of multiplicity honoring another.

What your donation funds:

Our full 2026 budget is approximately $7,500; we've set a staged starting goal and will raise it as each milestone is funded — dragon head, arm, and leg first, then transport, then the crafts' return shipping to India.

Earth Innovation Hub Corp is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit; donations here go directly to the organization and are tax-deductible. Every dollar goes to the project. Last year's build exceeded its budget and the gap was carried by the artists and this community — this year we're asking for help up front.

If you can't donate, sharing this page helps more than you know. And if you were one of the people who stood under the creature at night while it breathed fire — this is how it comes back.

Project journal, photos, and published papers are at its website.