Lord Jagannath taken to chariot sans traditional headgear during Puri Rath Yatra; opp slams govt

Bhubaneswar/Puri, Jul 17 (PTI) Conducting Lord Jagannath's ceremonial movement from inside the Puri temple towards the chariot outside without a traditional floral crown during the Rath Yatra has created a controversy, with the opposition BJD and Congress attacking Odisha’s BJP government over the lapse. The incident took place on Thursday when Lord Jagannath came out of the 12th-century shrine without wearing the ‘Tahia’ headgear that adds glamour to the Pahandi, the ceremonial procession of the Lord and his siblings from the temple to the chariots. However, the idols of Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra had their floral headgear during the ritual. While the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) said the Tahia was removed by the servitors shortly before the idol came out in the open since it was raining, the opposition parties refused to buy the logic, asserting that the festival is celebrated in the rainy season each year, and this deviation from the age-old tradition did not happen earlier. “This time, the Lord's appearance before the public without the Tahia has hurt the religious sentiments of millions of devotees,” state Congress president Bhakta Charan Das said. The state government should apologise to the crores of Jagannath devotees for this lapse, senior BJD leader Pramila Mallik said. The Puri Jagannath temple functions under the Law Department of the Odisha government. Explaining the reason for the procession without the headgear, SJTA chief administrator Arabinda Padhee said, “The Tahia was removed on ‘Baisi Pahacha’ (22 steps of the temple) as it got wet and heavy due to the rains." As the matter snowballed into a controversy and took a political turn, Padhee later said that placing or removing the Tahia is entirely the decision of the servitors. "The temple administration only oversees the processes. We have no role in the entire episode, nor have we issued any specific directives to remove it,” said Padhee, a senior IAS officer. Padhee said that he has spoken to several servitors who viewed that Pahandi without Tahia does not violate or diminish the sacred traditions in any way. However, the opposition parties are not ready to accept that. Addressing a press conference at the BJD headquarters, opposition chief whip Pramila Mallik said that everybody knows that the Rath Yatra is held during rainy days and even amid storms. "The deities have always emerged out of the temple on Rath Yatra adorned with their magnificent floral headgear. We strongly reject SJTA’s unrealistic clarification. If that is a fact, how did the Tahia of Lord Balabhadra remain intact?” Mallik asked. Terming the incident as unfortunate, the seven–time MLA said this is a clear violation of Odia Asmita (pride). "Lord Jagannath is the state’s pride and presiding deity of crores of Odias. He was carried to his Nandighosh chariot without the Tahia. The state government should apologise for this lapse,” Mallik said. She said it is unacceptable that such a deviation took place in the presence of the chief minister, Union ministers, state Ministers, chief secretary, DGP and other senior officials. She also accused the BJP government of allowing the pulling of chariots after sunset, in another departure from tradition, "dealing a blow to Odisha’s culture and identity". The state Congress president said that the BJP came to power, giving a call to protect Odia Asmita. "But it has failed to maintain the sanctity of religious institutions," Das said. The state government on Thursday stated that the Rath Yatra was conducted smoothly despite inclement weather and a congregation of lakhs of devotees from across the country and abroad. Ramakrishna Dasmohapatra, the secretary of Daitapati Nijog which is an influential group of servitors, defended removal of Tahia during Lord Jagannath’s Pahandi. “The Tahia was completely wet and heavy. It had to be removed to prevent any delay in the Lord’s journey to the chariot,” he said. Another servitor Binayak Dasmohapatra said, “The sharp bamboo sticks used in the Tahia were poking the eyes of servitors who were conducting Pahandi. Therefore, it was removed.” PTI AAM NN