Puri: President Ram Nath Kovind and his wife Sabita had a darshan of the deities inside Jagannath Temple in Puri on Sunday morning.
The couple was greeted by Puri Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb with a bouquet of flowers at the Simhadwar (Lion’s Gate) of the 12th century shrine at 7.30 am after they arrived amid tight security from the Circuit House, where they stayed overnight.
Later, accompanied by the Gajapati and servitors, the couple went round the temple and performed rituals. They went inside the sanctum sanctorum of the main temple and had darshan of the presiding deities: Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and goddess Subhadra.
After performing the rituals, the couple came out of the temple at 8.15 am.
In view of the visit of the President, the temple had remained closed for devotees from 6.30 am to 8.30 am.
After visiting the temple, the President attended the centenary celebrations of Rashtriya Sanskirt Sansthan.
Speaking on the occasion, Kovind said he had prayed Lord Jagannath for well-being of the people of the country.
Stating that Puri is known as Vidyanagari and the Kasi of eastern India, he said great saints like Guru Nanak and Sri Chaitanya had come to Puri to seek the blessings of Lord Jagannath. “This place has given birth to eminent intellectuals and thinkers like Gopabandhu Das, Nilakantha Das and Acharya Harihar,” he pointed out.
He said of the four dhams in the country, Puri dham has special religious significance.
Talking about the annual Rath Yatra, Kovind said the mega festival has occupied a unique place in the heart of millions of Indians as well as devotees from abroad as on this day, the Lord comes to the devotees to redress their weal and woe.
Referring to heritage sites in the state, he said destinations like Puri, Konark, Dhauligiri, Udayagiri have special uniqueness. “After visiting these heritage sites and looking at the finest architectural display, one would realize that due to the flourishing art and architecture, Odisha had been named as Utkala,” he observed.
Among others, Puri Gajapati King Dibyasingh Deb, Union ministers Jual Oram and Dharmendra Pradhan and State Higher Education Minister Ananta Das were present.
After having lunch at the Raj Bhawan at 1 pm, Kovind returned to Bhubaneswar. He is scheduled to attend the annual convocation of IIT-Bhubaneswar at 3.30 pm.
Later, he will inaugurate the ICT-IOC (Institute of Chemical Technology–Indian Oil Corporation) Bhubaneswar campus and then lay the foundation stone for the Skill Development Institute of oil PSUs, before returning to Delhi at 5.30 pm.
On Saturday afternoon, the President arrived here after visiting Janakinath Bhawan, the ancestral house of Netaji Subash Chandra Bose, which has been converted to a museum, and dedicating to the people the Anand Bhawan Museum and Learning Centre, the ancestral house of former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik, at Tulasipur in Cuttack.
The President had also attended the third foundation day lecture of National Law University Odisha (NLUO) on the outskirts of Cuttack city.
During his stay at Puri Circuit House, Kovind met some well-known personalities.
As part of the security arrangements, police sealed the road from Subash Bose Chhak to Sea Beach police station.
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