When the Daita servitors turned super-grade blackmailers, the whole Hindu community of the world was angry, upset and disgusted beyond limit. Their conduct could not be reformed mainly because not much clarity was ever available as to what exactly be considered correct.
Chariot climbing and deity-touching were banned by the Jagadguru Shankaracharya as per the scriptural prescription. The Daitas claiming to be descendants of the deities did not accept the ban.
long ago, the Gajapati Raja of Puri was forced to step down as the chief of temple management by the State Government, which took over the reign only to ensure that both pilgrims and servitors are happy.
The Daitas were never even considered important nor did they claim to be so until television came. They became self-styled priests which they are not, and began exploiting gullible devotees and pilgrims by posing to be high priests, not plain servitors.
The real priests, all Brahmins, entitled to touch and perform all critical routine chores, remained invisible because the television cameras rolled only when the deities came out in the open amid Daitas. Thus, in the last couple of decades a few members of the Daita community with stupid political patronage became known and visible.
The fact that ISKCON founder Prabhupada made Rath Yatra world famous, has been completely forgotten. With time changing and people getting into more money, many eyed the temple town on sea as a perfect pilgrimage destination. But today, most of them are seen regretting for having chosen a wrong place. Horribly exploitative acts by hotels, tour operators, auto-rickshaws, taxis and, above all, the servitors, particularly the Daitas, have discouraged tourists and pilgrims from coming back to Puri. But it is also true that there are a few Daitas who are good and truly hospitable and non-exploitative even today, though their number is too small.
The deity-touching on the chariot platform has become a ‘tradition’ without any historical or religious record. The temple Records of Right too have no mention of any sanction to the strange practice. If the deities are not to be touched in the sanctum sanctorum, they cannot be touched on the chariots too, let alone be hugged. On the contrary, there is clear tradition of the deities being subjected to cleansing baths in the event of a Daita touching any of the deities at an improper time by error or blunder.
Successive administrators, believing chariot-climbing to be fine, kept experimenting novel techniques for this practice. One of them introduced steel ladders, one in front and another behind to make the flow of devotees smooth and disciplined. But he forgot one critical aspect of danger: the weight of the crowd on the chariot platform.
The master carpenters are aghast today that the design of the chariots can never permit more than a certain amount of load. But by now, everything had gone beyond control. The pilgrims were crazy, no matter what cast or creed they belonged to.
All hell broke loose when strangest of visitors, white-skinned non-Hindus inclusive, climbed to be thrashed and beaten by the Daitas, not for their outcast status but for not paying a hefty booty to be close the deities. Year after year, the problem became growingly dangerous and went beyond control. It is only then that the administration, the priests and the people at large began expressing grave anxiety.
Every sensible person supported a complete ban on the worthless practice, and there was countrywide agitation more because the Daitas kept standing in front of the deities and no one could have a glimpse of the deities even on television with the smartest cameras focusing
on them.
Further, the audacious Daitas not only flaunted their ill-developed bulk but also loads of gold extorted from gullible pilgrims and devotees with wealth. Strangely, the Income Tax sleuths have not considered them as perfect targets to explore.
Eventually, it was decided that the Shankaracharya would take the final decision on whether the deity-touching-on-the-chariot practice is a sanctioned tradition. The temple administration lately has a very learned, committed bureaucrat as its chief.
He worked day and night to arrive at an acceptably-happy conclusion. The Gajapati backed the idea full steam. The primary 36 Nijogs of the temple agreed on a ban. But some Daitas kept opposing the proposal for vested interests. They kept claiming the practice is scripture-sanctioned and should remain in place.
When the Shankarachary was chosen as the chief determiner, they all agreed without a grumble. But once the verdict against the ban came, they rose in revolt against him. Not one of them could justify the practice. One of them, a Badagrahi of the Nandighosh Chariot (Badagrahi is only a sentry to keep guard) had the audacity to scoff at the seer’s verdict, saying on a television talk show that the Gajapati should also be banned from climbing the chariot and perform the sweeping act on the ground. Another Badagrahi, now a local politician too, talked nonsense, saying the seer has no right to pass judgment.
The worst of all acts was to refer the case of the ban for final ratification by the law Department of the Government, even after unanimous approval by the most powerful temple committee which is the apex body for resolving all critical issues related to the temple chores, traditions and practices.
Most unfortunately, the law Minister after consulting several experts, politicians and statesmen came up with a craziest decision: ban only on three days. The whole world was shocked. How can a crime be permitted to be committed on all other days and banned only on a fewIJ Citizens went wild with rage. One from Angul and another from Pipili filed PIls in the High Court of Odisha. Chief Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice Akshaya Kumar Rath ruled after a brief hearing that the Shankaracharya’s verdict is unchallengeable. It is a well-known fact that the judgment has been primarily scripted by Justice Rath, who has saved a whole race from infamy. The people of Odisha will keep him in heart forever. He is now part of judicial history.
Thus from this year on, the Car Festival at Puri will assume the proportions of a most magnificent annual event with the deities being perfectly visible from even the ground. The television camerapersons will have a feasting time forever.
Very interestingly, a Daitapati posing to be a very big leader keeps saying even at this moment that he will move the Supreme Court soon. He seems to be headless and insane. May the deities bless him!
(Biswaraj Patnaik is a freelance writer)