Puri, Oct 23: Rituals at the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri witnessed significant delays on the opening day of the Kartik month, causing inconvenience to devotees waiting for darshan and Mahaprasad. The Radha Damodar Besha of the deities was completed more than one and a half hours behind schedule, while the Baladhupa ritual was delayed by over three hours. The deities' scheduled daytime rest ritual, known as Dibapahuda, could not be performed.

According to the schedule fixed by the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration, the temple doors were to open at 4 am. However, they opened at 6.15 am. The Mangala Aarti, scheduled for 5 am, was performed at 7.05 am.

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The Radha Damodar Besha was scheduled between 6.30 am and 7.30 am but was completed only at 9.25 am. Subsequently, the Gopala Ballabha Bhoga and Sakala Dhupa rituals were performed, followed by Baladhupa at 1.40 pm, more than three hours later than the scheduled time of 10.30 am.

Mahaprasad availability delayed

The delay in temple rituals also affected the availability of Mahaprasad for devotees at Anand Bazaar.

As per the prescribed schedule, the Bhoga Mandap ritual was supposed to conclude by noon. However, it was completed only at 4.25 pm. Consequently, devotees had to wait until around 5 pm to obtain Anna Mahaprasad, including rice and dal, at Anand Bazaar.

The Madhyahna Dhupa, scheduled for 1.30 pm, was completed at 6.05 pm. The second Bhoga Mandap ritual, which was scheduled to conclude by 2.30 pm, continued until the night.

Daytime rest ritual skipped

The deities were scheduled to retire for their daytime rest between 3.30 pm and 5.30 pm. However, the Dibapahuda ritual could not be performed.

Temple rituals are generally expedited during periods of heavy pilgrim footfall, and arrangements had reportedly been made to complete the offerings early during the Kartik month. However, these measures could not prevent delays on the opening day.

Sources attributed the difference between the scheduled and actual timings to delays in the previous day's rituals, the large number of rituals during Kartik and delays in the services performed by servitors.

When contacted for a response, the temple's ritual administration did not provide a comment.

Concerns over upcoming Kartik rituals

The Kartik month attracts large numbers of devotees, including Habishyalis observing religious vows. The period is also marked by several important rituals and rare ceremonial attire of the deities.

The significant delays on the opening day have raised concerns about the smooth conduct of daily rituals and the management of devotees in the coming days. Questions are being raised over how the temple administration will ensure timely rituals, orderly darshan and the availability of Mahaprasad as the number of pilgrims increases during the auspicious month.