Puri: Inordinate delay in the rituals in Jagannath Temple forcing the Lords to spend sleepless night without food on Monday has deeply hurt the sentiments of the devotees across Odisha.
According to reports, there was a delay of about five and half hours on Monday due to delay in the rituals of the Lords as the Palia servitor, who was to perform rituals of the Lords inside the sanctum sanctorum as per the directive of the Orissa High Court, did not turn up as he was desecrated.
This led to a confrontation between the servitors’ bodies and the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA). However, Puri Collector Arvind Agrawal and SP Ashish Singh intervened and the rituals were performed. Due to the inordinate delay, the rituals were completed at 4.30 pm instead of 11 am. Due to this, the Mahaprasad of the Lords could not be offered to the Lords as it remained inside the temple kitchen much to the resentment of the devotees.
Since the Mahaprasad was not offered to the Lords, it could not be distributed among the devotees and as per rules, they had to be buried inside the Koili Baikuntha premises.
Meanwhile, alleging the loss of Mahaprasad to the tune of Rs 50 lakh, members of the Suara Mahasuara Nijog staged dharna in front of the Simhadwara demanding compensation from the SJTA.
Considering the gravity of the situation, SJTA chief administrator Pradip Jena on Tuesday appealed the servitors not to punish the Lords. “No one is above the Lord. So everybody should work for Him. Staying rigid without performing the rituals of the Lords is grossly unfortunate. I seek your cooperation in performing the rituals of the Lords in time. I also cordially invite you to redress your grievances so that the temple administration would try its best to take up the matter with the Orissa High Court. I also request you to let your stand known to the High Court,” Jena requested the servitors through a media briefing here.
Sources in the temple said there would be further delay in the preparation of Mahaprasad for the Lords on Tuesday as the cooked food has still remained inside the temple kitchen. The food would be prepared for the Lords as Mahaprasad after the temple kitchen is sanitised by the servitors and the burial of the stale food.
Meanwhile, the Mangala Alati ritual of the Lords was delayed by over an hour on Tuesday due to the standoff between the SJTA and the servitors.
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