With six days left for the Rath Yatra at Puri and despite a clear order from the Odisha High Court on the issue of chariot climbing, there are reasons to suspect that all is not well as far as the preparations for the grand festival is concerned.
The last coordination committee meeting for the Puri Rath Yatra, which ended on a discordant note with the irate sevayats (servitors) of the Shree Jagannath Temple cornering Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, some of his Cabinet colleagues and the top Government officials with a volley of questions, is a clear indication of the disquiet that many senior Government officials and ruling party leaders are trying to brush under
the carpet.
A section of the visibly agitated priests raised questions as to who will identity the sevayats to climb the chariots and whether the Shankaracharya of Puri is entitled to do so as per the Record of Rights.
“Is the Shankaracharya a Niti (ritual) Guru or Dharma (religious) GuruIJ Why he is interfering in the temple ritualsIJ Why is the temple administration evading the agenda of rituals at the review meetingIJ” a sevayat asked.
While one sevayat was heard saying that even the Shankaracharya does not figure in the record of rights as one who can climb the chariot, another stood up to seek a clarification on who will identify and list out the sevayats eligible to climb the chariots.
let the temple managing committee or anyone clarify when one can touch the deities without committing a ‘sin’ shouted another angry priest in what was clearly a sarcastic dig at the Shankaracharya’s view that devotees touching the deities was a ‘great sin’.
As none of the Ministers and officials including the Chief Minister was willing to answer, the angry sevayats walked out of the meeting.
However, normalcy returned as the sevayats came back after law Minister Arun Sahu announced that the State Government will have a meeting in the context of the verdict of the Odisha High Court on June 24 on the rituals of the temple, Records of Right (RoR) and rights of selected persons to climb the chariot.
Sahu also assured the sevayats that the committee will form a sub-committee to discuss the issues raised by them at the meeting.
However, the meeting is not likely to solve the controversy over who among the sevayats would be allowed to mount the chariot or even whether the Shankaracharya should be allowed to mount the chariots or not, informed sources said.
There are unconfirmed reports that some sevayats are even planning to create problems when the Jagadguru Shankaracharya pays a customary visit to the chariots on the Rath Yatra day.
“Disturbing signal and bad omen indeed,” said a local scholar, who blamed the State Government and the law Minister in particular, for messing up things.
“We can only pray to lord Jagannath that the Rath Yatra passes off smoothly without a hitch and hope that sevayats do not let their bitterness with the Shankaracharya and the Puri Gajapati affect the proceedings on the all-important day of chariot-pulling,” he said.