Puri: To dispel confusion over observance of festivals caused by discrepancies among various almanacs in Odisha, the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) in Puri convened a meeting involving all almanac publishing houses and astronomers from the state.
The meeting was also attended by scholars from Mukti Mandap of Puri Jagannath Temple. The meeting, held on Monday, aimed to rectify anomalies and streamline festival observances for the benefit of devotees.
After discussing the issue threadbare, the meeting reached a consensus that the annual Anasar ritual of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Devi Subhadra in the 12th century shrine in Puri will be for 13 days instead of the usual 15 days this year, in accordance with the almanac.
It was also decided that key rituals such as Ubha Yatra and Netra Utsav will proceed concurrently.
While the sibling deities will adorn new youthful attire and priests will perform all necessary rituals, public darshan will not be permitted.
The meeting decided that Pana Sankranti, marking the birth anniversary of Hanuman, will be observed on April 14, in Puri Jagannath Temple.
This apart, Panchuka, the final five days of the Kartik Brat, has been reduced to four days this time. Therefore, the ceremonial Laxmi-Nrusingh Vesha, which is observed on the fifth day of the Panchuka, has been omitted. During these five days, the deities usually adorned five distinct veshas. Temple records show that similar celestial alignments occurred in 1959-60 and 1971-72.
The SJTA has opted to replicate the procedures followed during those periods for the observance of rites and rituals.
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