The morning after taking oath, members of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s first government in Odisha led by chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi were in Puri to ensure the reopening of all four gates of the 12th-century Jagannath temple. Along with Majhi, deputy chief ministers KV Singh Deo, Pravati Parida, other members of the cabinet, and BJP’s Puri MP Sambit Patra were also present. In doing so, the BJP fulfilled one of its manifesto promises in the run-up to the elections.
Majhi, along with his colleagues, Puri MP Patra, Balasore MP Pratap Sarangi, and others in his cabinet, offered prayers during the Mangal Aarti, the first ritual that happens every morning in Shreemandira, prayed at the Singhadwara or the lion gate of the temple following the reopening of all the four gates.
Speaking to reporters, Majhi said, “Due to the infinite grace of Mahaprabhu and the wishes of 4.5 crore people of Odisha, a new government took oath yesterday. Due to the grace of Mahaprabhu, after the oath-taking ceremony, the first cabinet meeting took place and, in this meeting, four proposals were accepted. Acknowledging the sentiment of the devotees, the first decision of the government was to reopen the four doors after the Mangal Aarti. That has been accomplished today. The government with all its members had the Darshan of Mahaprabhu and with His blessings, the four gates were reopened following a parikrama. This decision was taken to ensure that devotees do not face any hurdles while performing their practices”.
The Jagannath temple in Puri has four main gates in four directions — Singhadwara (lion gate), Ashwadwara (horse gate), Vyaghradwara (tiger gate), and Hastidwara (elephant gate). The pilgrim town itself has grown around the temple. Historically, devotees and sevayats (those who perform various duties in the temple) could enter the premises through any of these gates according to their convenience. Following the Covid pandemic, all the gates, except the Singhadwara, were shut. And after the Biju Janata Dal’s mega Shreemandira Parikrama Prakalpa (Jagannath Temple Heritage Project), only one gate — the Singhadwara — remained open for devotees. Significantly, for devotees , the four gates symbolised ‘Dharma’, ‘Artha’, ‘Kama’ and ‘Moksha’- the four goals of life.
Following the BJD’s ambitious project, steel barricades for queues leading up to the lion gate and into the temple premise were put up. This, for the first time, forced devotees to stand in long lines. During October and November, which is the spiritually important Kartika month, when thousands of devotees from across Odisha and the world visit Puri, there was a lot of inconvenience as all devotees were forced to enter the temple through one gate instead of four, leading to swelling and angry crowds. There were growing demands not just from the Congress and the BJP but also from the local people of Puri to reopen all four gates. However, only one more gate, the Vyaghradwara, was reopened, and that too only for the locals of the pilgrim town. Therefore, the reopening of the other gates marks a return to the way the temple functioned through the centuries.
In another important decision on Wednesday, the BJP government earmarked a corpus fund of Rs 500 crore for maintenance, renovation, security, and any other work that may be required in the Jagannath temple. The BJP had also made the missing keys of the Ratna Bhandara of the Jagannath temple an election issue, and, in an indirect attack on BJD leader VK Pandian, asked whether it had been sent to Tamil Nadu, the state that the former bureaucrat comes from. The BJP had also promised to bring back the keys of the Ratna Bhandara. However, when asked, CM Majhi said, “We have passed two proposals in the cabinet regarding the traditions of Mahaprabhu. The government has a keen eye on the big issues, including the question (of the missing keys). Since the government has just been sworn in, in the coming days, the government will take a strong decision keeping in mind the suggestions of all and ensuring justice for devotees and 4.5 crore Odias.”
In the run-up to the elections, the Naveen Patnaik government had gone all out to restore temples as well as the few churches and mosques in Odisha, beginning with the Jagannath temple. The Shreemandira Parikrama Prakalpa, which aimed to provide devotees a clear path for circumambulation around the temple as well as basic amenities was inaugurated in mid-January, ahead of the Ayodhya Ram temple consecration event, by the then chief minister Naveen Patnaik in the presence of Gajapati Maharaj Divyasingha Deb, the titular king of Puri, and representatives from across all major temples in the country, and even the Pashupatinath temple in Nepal. Encroachments around the Meghanada Pacheri (outer wall) were posing a threat to the temple itself and obstructed a clear view for the devotees. Aiming for his sixth term, at a cost of Rs 900 crore, the Jagannath Temple Heritage Corridor was one of the most important “achievements” that Naveen Patnaik’s government had to showcase. Though the Heritage Corridor was appreciated by many, there were growing complaints about the new system of entry into the holiest of Odisha’s temples.
Balasore MP Pratap Sarangi said, “Today there is freedom from the rule of Kalapahada. The wall created between Lord Jagannath and devotees has been felled.” Kalapahada is a 16th-century invader who destroyed temples in Odisha.
In reopening the gates and dedicating Rs 500 crore to its upkeep, the BJP is signalling that it is serious about the traditions of the temple continuing as before without any “outside” (Pandian’s) influence.
Comments
0 comment