Puri: Nagarjuna Besha of Lord Jagannath and siblings will not be held in 2021 as stated earlier by the almanac writers of Srimandir in December 2020. The announcement was made by the Administrator (Rituals) of Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), Jitendra Sahu on Tuesday.
Addressing a presser, Sahu said, "It is a standard practice in Srimandir to invite all the calendar makers to submit their calendars bearing dates and time of all the rituals to be held in Srimandir in a particular year with the Mukti Mandap Scholar Council. A committee comprising Mukti Mandap Scholars and other stakeholders review the suggestions and finalise the dates after due calculations."
"In today's meeting, it has been unanimously accepted by the pandits that Nagarjuna Besha does not fall in 2021," Sahu added.
Notably, some calendars for 2021 had a date for Nagarjuna Besha of the Trinity which led to some confusion among devotees.
Harishankar Mishra, member of the Mukti Mandap Scholar Council said, "All the dates of rituals in the temple were decided upon in the coordination meeting held today. As far as the Nagarjuna Besha is concerned, it will not be held in 2021."
"I have personally requested the government to take action against those calendar makers who have published such misleading and false dates hurting the religious sentiments of the devotees," Mishra added.
Lord Jagannath and sibling deities were adorned with the Nagarjuna Besha attire after a hiatus of 26 years on November 27, 2020. However, the rituals were performed only in presence of servitors and temple officials due to Covid-induced restrictions.
(Edited By Pradeep Singh)