Rituals Halted At Puri Jagannath Temple In Odisha; Know Why

Puri: Rituals of sibling deities at Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s pilgrim town of Puri was delayed by over five hours on Friday after a Pushpalaka sevayat (Singhari), who has been barred from offering services, forcefully entered the sanctum sanctorum of the 12th-century shrine.

While no ritual was conducted at Srimandir after Mailam Niti at the temple due to the dispute, ‘Abakasa Niti’ and other rituals were later held after ‘Bada Maha Snana’ (grand purification) of the deities. 

Following the incident, Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) officials had held discussions with the servitors of various nijogs to resolve the issue. “The servitor tried to offer service at sanctum sanctorum despite a restriction. This led to disruption in rituals,” SJTA Chief Administrator Ranjan Kumar Das earlier told the media.

An investigation into the incident will be initiated and stringent action will be taken against those responsible for the disruption, he added.

A Puja Panda sevayat told the media that the Singhari servitor was barred from performing rituals at Srimdair by the concerned nijog since he had married a woman of another caste. “This is the rule of the nijog,” he added.