Bhubaneswar: A 48-year-old Romanian tourist here on Friday created a flutter after entering Shree Lingaraj Temple In Bhubaneswar, which is off limits to non-Hindus.
According to sources, the foreign national, identified as Vasilache Andrei-Cristian, was spotted roaming on premises of the 11th-century shrine. Temple police and servitors, noticing suspicious behaviour, questioned him. He was then immediately whisked away from the shrine to the temple office for verification, which confirmed his Christian identity.
Rituals at the temple were disrupted following the foreigner’s entry as priests performed a purification ritual by sprinkling lime across the premises and at the main entrance, the Lion’s Gate, and dumped the prasad prepared for Lord Lingaraj in ‘Amunia’ pool. The deity was also bathed and adorned once again.
Senior servitor Biranchi Narayan Patri expressed shock at how a non-Hindu entered despite police presence at the 11th-century temple. There is also a signboard that clearly mentions that non-Hindus cannot enter the temple.
The Lingaraj Temple had witnessed a similar chaotic situation following the entry of Russian in 2012, , who claimed to have converted to Hinduism in the past. In another incident in March 2009, a Hindu NRI boy from Poland, Ryszard Ankur Ahuja was stopped from entering Lingaraj temple as he looked like a foreigner.
