Odisha: Covid-19 forces Puri Jagannath Temple to host Debasnan Purnima sans devotees

BHUBANESWAR: The chants of Jai Jagannath that would go up from the devotees as the servitors made way with the deities during Pahandi procession was strangely missing on Friday. Instead, a murmur went up from the 500-odd servitors as the Puri Jagannath Temple observed Debasnan Purnima rituals in the run-up to the June 23 Rath Yatra. The absence of devotees marked the festival being held under the shadow of Covid-19 that has already claimed eight lives in the state and infected more than 2000.
To maintain social distancing norms and stop the spread of the virus, the Puri district administration had clamped prohibitory orders around the temple under Section 144 of the CrPC, banning the congregation of devotees. While it did help to keep people away, the ceremony, which went off peacefully, missed its soul. A few tried to break the barricades, but were stopped by the police before they could reach the temple.
“It has been more than two months since I last visited the temple. I never imagined that this virus would create a distance between me and the deities. Though I watched the proceedings on TV, it was no match as seeing it from inside the temple,” said Haramani Mishra, an elderly woman, who could not control her emotions and unsuccessfully tried to go near the temple by defying the police deployment.
Unlike the past when more than 1500 servitors would perform the rituals, this time only 500 were allowed to enter the temple to solemnize Debasnan Purnima and that too only after their coronavirus test reports returned negative. Infact, there were more police personnel, around 700, deployed to prevent the congregation of devotees than there were servitors.
Unlike previous years, the Grand Road in Puri where thousands of devotees would gather to watch the presiding deities of the 12th century shrine being given a ceremonial bath, wore a deserted look.
While the temple continued to remain shut for outsiders since March 20, the devotees were accorded a glimpse of the sibling deities — Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and goddess Subhadra — after more than two months through live telecast on TV. But the excitement was clearly missing for those who never missed taking part in the festivities.
“We watched the live telecast of the festival on TV, but we could not feel the festive mood and devotion by sitting at home. It has always been our custom to watch the deities in the temple from close range,” said Prashanti Mohanty, another devotee.
“We coordinated the live telecast of the festival as religious congregation is banned outside the temple. All rituals, including Hati Besha, in which the deities sported elephant attire, were conducted on time,” Puri district collector Balwant Singh said.
Servitors too felt the vacuum in the absence of devotees. “The euphoria surrounding the festival was missing this time. We missed devotees, the chanting of Hari Bol and Jai Jagannath, the dancing and singing by devotees on the Grand Road. The festivity lacked grandeur and looked incomplete without the congregation of devotees,” said Jogendra Dasmohapatra, a servitor.
Though the congregation of devotees was banned to ensure social distancing, the rule was reportedly compromised during the conduct of some rituals, including the Pahandi procession, when groups of servitors carried the giant idols from the sanctum sanctorum to the bathing altar on their shoulders. None of the servitors wore masks. Temple officials said in apprehension of possible breach of social distancing norms, very limited number of servitors were allowed to perform the duty following their Covid-19 test.
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