The long wait of Ananta Gopal temple at Chhatia for arrival of Lord Jagannath and His siblings from Puri has not ended even after five centuries. Such is also the case of innumerable devotees and temple priests who believe that one day the deities will abandon their abode in Puri and come to Chhatia, according to Malika, a prophecy by saint Achyutananda Das.

According to his prophecy, Puri will be submerged by the sea due to global warming and subsequent rise in water level. Achyutananda Das had predicted the arrival of the trinity to Chhatia after the sea engulfs the holy town.

“His prediction in his Malika about the 1866 great famine, 1999 super cyclone, heat wave for the last couple of years due to global warming and other major events in the country have come true,” said Malika researcher Bibhutibhusan Pal.

The 15th century saint in his famous book Udhhab Bhakti Pradayani had written that one day Lord Jagannath will leave His Puri and live in Chhatia town, said Pal.

The Ananta Gopal temple is regarded as the second abode of Lord Jagannath after Puri. The devotees claim that Lord Jagannath will return to Chhatia along with His brother and sister some day. Keeping His ‘return’ in mind, construction work is going on in the temple.

Since the people believe that the Lord would return any day, construction work at the temple never stops. The decks are being constantly cleared for the Lord’s return.

“Regular construction work is a tradition of the temple as the Lord will come here some day. The construction work in Chhatia temple will stop only when the trinity returns,” said Pradyumna Kumar Das, one of the priests of the temple.

Everyday, priests worship in front of the empty pedestal of the temple in the sanctum sanctorum with the hope that Lord Jagannath will arrive here one day.