Delayed Rituals Prolong Devotees’ Wait For Darshan At Jagannath Temple In Odisha’s Puri

Puri: Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s Puri saw an unprecedented rush of devotees on Friday morning as their wait for the darshan of the sibling deities was lengthened due to a delay in the rituals last night.

According to sources, the Pahuda ritual, which was supposed to be held last night, was completed at 5.05 am this morning. This delayed the Dwaraphita ritual and the doors of the sanctum were opened at 7 am instead of 4.30 am as per the Record of Rights of the temple. The Mangala Alati was performed at 8.05 am instead of 5.30 am. Subsequently, the devotees were allowed inside the shrine.

The delay in Saraswati Puja and Chacheri Besha of Lord Jagannath on Thursday had slowed down the rituals, the sources added.

The sevayants have asked for the temple administration to hold a deliberation over the reasons behind the delay to prevent a recurrence.

Notably, the preparation for chariot construction for this year’s Rath Yatra began on the occasion of Sripanchami with priests consecrating three logs for Nandighosa chariot of Lord Jagannath, Taladhwaja chariot of Lord Balabhadra and Darpadalana chariot of Devi Subhadra.