Uncertainty hangs over Lord Lingaraj's Sital Sasthi fest: Ball in Temple Administration’s court, say servitors

Though clouds of uncertainty still hangs over the annual Sital Sasthi Jatra of Lord Lingaraj in Bhubaneswar, the servitors feel the temple administration has an important role to play in solving the disagreement between them and make way for the celebration of the famous annual festival of the Lord.

The ‘Mangan’ ritual was cancelled yesterday due to non-cooperation between Brahman and Puja Panda nijogs pushing the celebration of the divine marriage of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, scheduled for today, into uncertainty.

The nijogs have attributed the cause of their non-coperation to non-fulfilment of various demands related with land issue and face-off between the servitors of Lord Lingaraj and Lord Kapilnath.

“All the rituals of Lord Lingaraj have been stopped from yesterday due to the non-fulfillment of various demands of the servitors. However, it is up to the administration to solve all the issues paving the way for the celebration of the famous festival. The administration has not taken sincere steps to resolve the issue over the last several years. Therefore, we have stopped the Mangan ritual,” said a senior servitor of Mahasuara Nijoga.

“As Lord Kapilnath is not coming to take part in the Jatra, the servitors are not cooperating. Earlier, the temple administration had assured the participation of Lord Kapilnath in Chandan Jatra and Sital Sasthi. But nothing has happened since last eight years despite High Court’s order,” he rued.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Sura Routray said discussion is being held with the Collector and Temple Administration to come up with a possible solution for the celebration of the festival.