Puri: In an example of emotional bondage of devotees with Lord Jagannath, a Naga Sadhu defied the security ring around Jagannath Temple to rush inside hours after it was reopened on Wednesday.
The temple, which had remained closed to devotees for 9 months due to COVID-19 pandemic and resultant lockdown, was opened as part of phased reopening. On the first day, only the family members of the sevayats were allowed to go inside the temple to offer puja to the deities.
In order to ensure that the norm is strictly followed, adequate security arrangement was put in place at the gates of the temple. The process was going on smoothly for a few hours until the Naga Baba gave a slip to the security forces and ran inside the temple.
Even as the police ran to catch hold of him, he managed to reach near the sanctum sanctorum to have darshan of Lord Jagannath and his siblings.
However, police nabbed him and took him out of the temple premises.
The sadhu told the media persons outside the temple that he has been worshipping the Lords from outside since the closure of the temple.
“Today when the temple gates opened, I could not control my emotion to have darshan of the Lord and offer prayer. I don’t know what came over me and started running inside the temple. I could faintly hear the policemen shouting at me to stop. But I continued running till I could see the Lord Jagnnath sitting on Ratna Sinhasan,” he said.
Also Read: Puri’s Lord Jagannath Temple Reopens For Darshan After 9 Months
