Puri: Ahead of Rath Yatra, a controversy erupted at Shree Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s Puri after Dasamula Modakas, a medicinal offering for Lord Jagannath & siblings during Anasara period, were allegedly stolen from the shrine premises.
On Monday, Haladhara Dasmohapatra, a senior servitor of the 12th-century shrine, lodged a complaint with the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) on Monday, claiming that 70 Dasamula Modakas, an Ayurvedic herbal medicine in ball form, were missing from 313 stored at Garada, a chamber on the temple complex. The theft was noticed on Saturday.
The Raja Vaidyas, a group of servitors, had prepared Dasamula Modakas.
Dasmohapatra discovered the missing medicines when retrieving them for the deities’ treatment and questioned how to proceed with the ritual. “This is a serious and unpardonable act. This has never happened in the temple’s history. The SJTA must conduct an investigation and punish those responsible. CCTV footage from the temple should be reviewed,” he added.
An SJTA official confirmed that an internal inquiry is in progress to examine the allegation.
Since the divine bathing on Snana Purnima, observed on June 11, Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Goddess Subhadra have been recuperating in Anasara Ghara, the temple’s isolation chamber, out of public view, and are set to reappear for darshan on June 26, a day before Rath Yatra.
