Hereditary Service In Jagannath Temple Essential: Shankaracharya

Puri: Shankaracharya of Gobardhan Peeth Swami Nischalananda Saraswati has strongly recommended the continuation of hereditary services of the servitors in the Jagannath Temple in Puri.

“The temple is not an industry. Here, the practice of hereditary service of the servitors should be maintained. The temple should not be treated like the Samadhi Sthal of Mahatma Gandhi,” he said while addressing a meeting at the Gobardhan Peeth in presence of the Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingh Deb on Thursday.

He also said that the state government should place all relevant documents including the Record of Rights (RoR) of the Jagannath Temple before the Supreme Court on the practice of the hereditary service of the servitors.

The apex court, in its interim order on July 6, had directed the managing committee of the temple to implement the recommendations of the Puri District Judge to improve its overall functioning.

Besides, the apex court had also asked the committee to consider another proposal on the abolition of hereditary service of the servitors and steps to be taken for their recruitment.

The Puri seer advised the state government to think about the steps to be taken to bail out the servitors of their financial crisis and provide education to their children.

In his address, the Gajapati Maharaja asked the servitor communities to stand united on the issue of the practice of hereditary service.

He also suggested the formation of a legal cell comprising of a group of servitors having a thorough knowledge of legal matters.

A number of senior servitors and representatives of the Chhattisa Nijog were present.