Lord Lingaraj’s rituals suspended again following dispute between Nijogs in Bhubaneswar

The rituals at Lord Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneswar have been disrupted again. This time a dispute between Brahman Nijog and other Nijogs at the Lingaraj Temple is said to be the reason behind the stoppage of the rituals on Wednesday. The tussle is the fallout of a dispute over unsettled land belonging to Lord Lingaraj.

As per the Orissa High Court order, the unsettled lands of Lord Lingaraj’s which were enjoyed by the servitors of Puja Panda Nijog and Brahman Nijog till now are gradually returning to the Lord. At the same time, the shops being constructed by the Badu Nijog on those disputed lands have received a green signal from the court to complete them as soon as possible.

However, challenging the court order, Brahman and Puja Panda Nijogs later filed a petition in the court and obtained a stay order on the construction of shops by the Badu Nijog which has been frowned upon by them.

Terming it a conspiracy, the Brahman Nijog and Puja panda Nijog allegedly halted the rituals of the Temple as a mark of protest.

The rituals of Lord Lingaraj have been suspended after Mangal Alati on Wednesday.

" The High Court has issued this ‘one-sided’ order because of the silence of the Endowment Commissioner. If the Endowment department considers the High Court order as right, then why were the unsettled lands taken away from the servitors. Those lands were given to us by the then King. So it should be returned to us otherwise we will stop Lord Lingaraj’s rituals indefinitely,” said, Biranchi Narayan Pati, Secretary of Brahman Nijog.

However, the Badu Nijog has refuted the allegations of conspiracy claiming they are the first servitors of the Lord and the King had actually given them the land, not to the Brahman Nijog.

Secretary of Badu Nijog Kamalakant Pujapanda said, “Nobody has the right to halt Lord Lingaraj’s rituals. The Brahman Nijog was given property by the King to serve the Lord. We want strict action against the servitors who have stopped the rituals at temple.”

Citing a previous court order, Pujapanda said, “Justice MM Das had ruled that the servitors who do not perform their service at the temple should be asked to leave the temple for good and Lord Lingaraj’s property enjoyed by them should be confiscated too. I think this is high time the endowment commissioner enforces this order.”

“The then Kings of Keshari dynasty had given us lands at several places to enjoy and serve at the Temple. But the Brahman Nijog has become jealous and that is why all these allegations have been made,’ he said.

It is pertinent to mention here that this is not the first time that Lord Lingaraj’s rituals have been suspended by the servitors. The dispute between several Nijogs has been lingering for several years, hurting the religious sentiments of the devotees.