PURI JAGANNATH TEMPLE
1.Context
Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal has backed the entry of foreign nationals inside the world-famous Jagannath Temple in Puri, wading into a debate that has lasted for decades and periodically triggered controversy
2.About jagannath temple
The Temple is one of the four dhams (char dham) where Lord Jagannath, a form of Lord Vishnu, is worshipped along with his elder brother Lord Balabhadra and sister Devi Subhadra
Only Hindus are allowed inside the shrine to offer prayers to the sibling deities in the sanctum sanctorum
A sign at the Temple's Lion’s Gate (main entrance) clearly states: “Only Hindus are allowed.”
3.Why non hindus are not allowed
- It has been the practice for centuries even though no clearly articulated reason exists.
- Some historians believe that multiple attacks on the Temple by Muslim rulers might have led the servitors to impose restrictions on the entry of non-Hindus
- Lord Jagannath is also known as Patitabapan which literally means “saviour of the downtrodden”
- So all those who are barred from entering the Temple because of religious reasons get the privilege of a darshan of the Lord in the form of Patitapaban at the Lion’s Gate
- Jagannath, Lord of the Universe, comes to Bada Danda (the Grand Road) along with his siblings during the nine-day Rath Yatra (car festival) in June-July every year — an occasion when non-Hindus can have His darshan
- As the deities go on a sojourn to the Gundicha temple, their birthplace, devotees from around the world throng Puri for a glimpse of the Lord
- In 1984, the servitors famously opposed the entry of Indira Gandhi inside the Temple, saying she had married a non-Hindu
- In November 2005, Thai Princess Maha Chakri Srinidhorn, who was on her maiden visit to Odisha, viewed the Temple from the outside because foreigners are not allowed
- In 2006, Swiss citizen Elizabeth Jigler was denied entry because she was Christian, even though she had donated Rs 1.78 crore to the Temple
- In 2011, a proposal by Pyari Mohan Mohapatra, then adviser to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, supporting the entry of non-Hindus into the Temple to boost Odisha’s tourism potential, triggered a major controversy
Source:indianexpress
