Lord Jagannath’s Cartoon Triggers Row In Odisha, FIR Lodged

Puri: Piyush Tripathy, a jatra actor on Tuesday lodged an FIR against a website, Patrika.com, for hurting religious sentiments of the people of Odisha by publishing a cartoon of Lord Jagannath and his siblings.

In his complaint filed at Singhadwara Police Station in Puri, Tripathy has alleged that in a published article, the concerned media house has used the word ‘quarantine’ to describe the traditional ‘Anasara Ghara’ ritual, which marks the period of convalescence of the Holy Trinity after they fall ill following the ceremonial bathing during the Snana Yatra.

“How can be the Lord in quarantine when the ritual of Anasara Ghara is being followed since ages in Puri temple. The cartoon which depicts Lord Jagannath, Balabhdra and Goddess Subhadra lying on a cot with thermometers in their mouth is condemnable,” said Tripathy.

As per tradition, the Holy Trinity of Puri Temple falls ill after the bath on the occasion of Snana Purnima, which is one of the major rituals conducted prior to the Rath Yatra.

After the grand bath, the deities are given traditional treatment and a day before the Rath Yatra; they give darshan to devotees after recovering from fever after 14 days.

Also Read: Rath Yatra 2020: Lord Jagannath Gives Darshan In ‘Hati Besha’ On Snana Purnima