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| The Shankaracharya and (above) security personnel keep a watch on the eve of rath in Puri on Sunday. Telegraph pictures |
Puri, June 28: Giving a new twist to the ongoing controversy over devotees being barred from climbing onto the chariots of Lord Jagannath and his siblings during the rath yatra that commences here tomorrow, Shankaracharya Nischalananda Saraswati today said that he would not take part in the event this time.
The seer is aggrieved as the temple administration informed him in a letter today that he alone would be allowed on the chariots and not his followers.
Sources said the temple administration wrote the letter after the daitapati servitors insisted that they would not allow any of the seer’s followers on the chariots in consonance of the recent high court order which, endorsing the view of the shankaracharya, said that anyone not connected with the rituals of the deities should not be allowed to mount the chariots.
The servitors are aggrieved with both the king of Puri and the shankaracharya as they had insisted that the temple administration should not allow devotees to climb chariots. As the issue snowballed into a major controversy, the high court intervened on June 20 and directed the temple administration to accept the recommendations of the shankaracharya, which bars anyone except servitors associated with the rituals of the deities from climbing the chariot.
The daitapatis have already boycotted an important ritual connected with the rath yatra providing enough hints of a possible confrontation with the temple administration during the upcoming event. They did not visit the king’s palace to break the news of the deities’ recovery from the fever they catch after the snan purnima following which they go into hibernation.
Addressing a news conference here today, the shankaracharya said: “The attitude of the administration has pained me. It seems the government is under the pressure from certain quarters and can’t protect my dignity.”
Hitting out at the government for its decision, he further said: “When the Lord Jagannath is at the mercy of some sevayats, how can I expect justice? I am only asking for justice.”
The shankaracharya alleged that temple was being run at the whims of a handful of people.
“There is a need to clean up the entire system. Some people stop Lord’s puja and bhog anytime they want to. It is like the owner of a factory being at the mercy of a handful of workers,” he said, adding that the Lord Jagannath resides in his heart and he does not feel the need to visit the chariots during the rath yatra.
Senior servitor Jagananth Swain Mohapatra said: “In the past, the shankaracharya did not use to climb the chariots. It started only a few years ago when one of our servitors took him atop the chariots. From then, the tradition continues,” he said, adding that everybody should adhere to the high court’s order.
But the top seer’s announcement has triggered a controversy with political parties, too, reacting. “The government has insulted the shankaracharya,” said BJP senior leader Biswa Bhushan Harichandan.
Temple chief administrator Aravind Padhee said: “We have all respect for the shankaracharya, but the high court order has to be followed. We will also ensure that all the rituals are held on time tomorrow. The chariots will be pulled from 3pm.”
In an important development, sources said efforts were on to placate the seer who, in the event of being requested by the temple administration, may relent and agree to take part in the rath rituals.
One of the important rituals — Naba Jauban Darshan of the divine trinity — took place peacefully today. On this occasion, the deities, following their recovery from 14-day-long sickness, appear on their throne in the sanctum sanctorum for the darshan of devotees.