Puri, Mar 2 (UNI) Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Balabhadra and sister Devi Subhadra, the presiding deities of Jagannath Temple, were deprived of lunch, dinner and sleep for over twenty hours since yesterday following a conflict over purification measures on the entry of a non Hindu in the sanctum sanctorum yesterday.
The foreigner, identified as Paul Roediger, a US national, was fined according to the temple laws and was allowed to go.
But the temple priests were divided over the purification measures to be taken following his entry into the sanctum sanctorum. While some advocated observing a formal Mahasnan (purification bathing) of the deities, others pleaded for a complete purification of the whole temple complex and dumping of the prepared cooked 'bhog' in the kitchen kept for offering.
The prepared 'bhog', worth lakhs of rupees, was destroyed at night and the temple complex purified by the servitors.
The rituals in the temple were resumed at 1300 hours today with the observance of 'Surya puja,Abakash, Mangal arati, Mailum' and with offering of 'Kothabhog''(cooked offerings prepared by the temple administration appointed cooks) to the deities.
The other cooks who prepare bhog for the devotees to be sold in the temple's Ananda bazaar (Mahaprasad market) were yet to resume their work. The situation was fast returning to normal and by tonight the 'nitees' would be on tracks, temple officials said.
The cooks preparing and selling the bhog commercially to the pilgrims have demanded that temple administration should compensate their individual losses. Some senior servitors on the condition of anonymity, said that the administration should institute a probe into the incident to ascertain as to who guided Paul and his Indian companions into the temple and bought them tickets for darshan from the temple counter.
It was clear that the servitor guide conducted them to all other temples located in the complex and finally took them into the sanctum sanctorum of lord Jagannath passing through a number of interception points.
Paul was identified as an intruder while he was offering prayers in the ''Garbhgruha'' close to the ''Ratnasinghasan''.The seniors questioned how could a foreign national, who could be easily identified in a crowd of devotees, escaped vigilant eyes of the temple security personnel, servitors and the police manning the gate and entered the sanctum sanctorum.
UNI
The foreigner, identified as Paul Roediger, a US national, was fined according to the temple laws and was allowed to go.
But the temple priests were divided over the purification measures to be taken following his entry into the sanctum sanctorum. While some advocated observing a formal Mahasnan (purification bathing) of the deities, others pleaded for a complete purification of the whole temple complex and dumping of the prepared cooked 'bhog' in the kitchen kept for offering.
The prepared 'bhog', worth lakhs of rupees, was destroyed at night and the temple complex purified by the servitors.
The rituals in the temple were resumed at 1300 hours today with the observance of 'Surya puja,Abakash, Mangal arati, Mailum' and with offering of 'Kothabhog''(cooked offerings prepared by the temple administration appointed cooks) to the deities.
The other cooks who prepare bhog for the devotees to be sold in the temple's Ananda bazaar (Mahaprasad market) were yet to resume their work. The situation was fast returning to normal and by tonight the 'nitees' would be on tracks, temple officials said.
The cooks preparing and selling the bhog commercially to the pilgrims have demanded that temple administration should compensate their individual losses. Some senior servitors on the condition of anonymity, said that the administration should institute a probe into the incident to ascertain as to who guided Paul and his Indian companions into the temple and bought them tickets for darshan from the temple counter.
It was clear that the servitor guide conducted them to all other temples located in the complex and finally took them into the sanctum sanctorum of lord Jagannath passing through a number of interception points.
Paul was identified as an intruder while he was offering prayers in the ''Garbhgruha'' close to the ''Ratnasinghasan''.The seniors questioned how could a foreign national, who could be easily identified in a crowd of devotees, escaped vigilant eyes of the temple security personnel, servitors and the police manning the gate and entered the sanctum sanctorum.
UNI
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