As the closure of Srimandir in Puri entered its 13th day on Saturday, demands to reopen the temple grew from all sections, including devotees, locals and street vendors.
Last year in April, Nestle India had also apologised for wrongly depicting Manipur's Keibul Lamjao National Park to be located in Meghalaya on the packaging of its KitKat chocolate after objection by authorities from the state government.
As the entire nation remains in a state of high alert with the rising Covid cases, Odisha had issued a new set of guidelines to curb the spread of the virus on Wednesday. The new restrictions came into effect from today and will continue till February 1.
The special committee has also been assigned to ascertain the identity of the law violators in coordination with the investigators or otherwise and proceed against them for enforcement of environmental norms, including action of stopping the illegal mining, added the letter.
Panda went on to say that Gen Rawat had a unique personality and stature which was more than impressive. "I am out of words describing him," he said.
The team argued that earlier, the town was recognised as Jagannath Puri or Purushottam Dham. But later the British East India Company conspired and changed the name to only ‘Puri’.
Generous - remaining true to its name, 'Jawad' not just spared Odisha but also left behind a magnificent makeover of the skies over Puri, the holy land of Lord Jagannath. After the cyclonic system crossed Puri coast as a depression Sunday evening, the skies were lit up in gold and crimson.
“There are three keys of Bhitara Ratna Bhandara (inner treasure chamber) and as per the norms Puri Gajapati, district Collector and he himself should keep one key each. However, in 2018, the door of Bhitara Ratna Bhandara didn’t open with any of the keys that the Collector had brought,” said Ratna Bhandara servitor Ganesh Mekapa.
Devotees queue up at Puri Srimandir to get a glimpse of Lord Jagannath. Long queue of devotees seen at Lord Jagannath Temple in Puri during Panchaka Brata.
For Jagannath devotees, the mention of Nepal reminds them of Shalagrams and Kasturi or the fragrant extract from the musk deer.
The administration has taken such strict measures in the wake of containing pollution as well as restricting COVID transmission. Moreover, devotees are restricted from entering Srimandir today.
Devotees from far and wide will finally get chance to witness the bliss of Lord Jagannath before their eyes with the reopening of the Puri Srimandir for general public from tomorrow onwards after several months of Covid hiatus.
One of the most spectacular rituals of the annual Ratha Jatra, Suna Besha of the sibling deities - also called the Rajadhiraja Besha - is performed a day after the Holy Trinity return to their abode following a 9-day sojourn at the Gundicha. The divine triad of Bada Thakura Balabhadra, Mahaprabhu Jagannath and Devi Subhadra, atop their chariots on Puri Badadanda donned a resplendent attire of gold. Like previous year, the rituals were performed without congregation of devotees due to restrictions imposed in the wake of the current pandemic situation.
Lord Jagannath & His sibling deities adorned gold ornaments and basked in golden glory during the Suna Besha rituals on the chariots at Puri Srimandir.
This adorable girl from Puri is an ardent devotee of Lord Jagannath.
The Suna Besha or golden attire of the Holy Trinity will be performed today in Puri without public participation like last year due to Covid-19 pandemic
Quite similar to the Ratha Jatra festival, the return journey 'Bahuda Jatra' of the Holy Trinity from Gundicha temple to Srimandir in Puri also began almost two hours ahead of the schedule. After the nine-day annual sojourn at the Gundicha ended today, Bada Thakura Balabhadra, Mahaprabhu Jagannath and Devi Subhadra returned to Ratna Bedi on their majestic chariots. On way, the sibling deities were fed with their favourite offering of Poda Pitha.
Srimandir and its periphery can be explained according to a yogic interpretation
Puri was a big draw for medieval saints from across the country. The most notable among them were Shankaracharya, Shri Chaitanya, Ramanujacharya, Ballabhacharya, Guru Nanak, Kabir, Tulsi Das and Swami Ramdas
Servitors started the rituals as per tradition since last night for the return journey of the divine trinity. Rituals like Bahuda Kanta, Charabandha, Kusumilagi have been performed.
On the occasion of the welcoming of the deities of Lord Balabhadra, Jagannath and Devi Subhadra to the Gundicha Temple on Tuesday, little Swayam performed some acrobatic stunts and entertained the many sevayats, officials and police at the spot.
The annual car fest of the Holy Trinity was held at the world-famous Jagannath Temple in Puri but without the participation of devotees for the second year in a row because of the pandemic restrictions. After the ceremonial Pahandi, Lord Jagannath and His siblings were placed atop their chariots for their annual sojourn. Millions of devotees in Odisha and across the world witnessed the traditional ceremony on their TV sets, mobile phones and computers during the live telecast and streaming of the rituals and grand procession on the Grand Road of the temple town.
As per the government decision, only servitors are pulling the chariots of the Holy Trinity due to restrictions on public participation amid Covid pandemic
With only few hours left for the pulling of chariots, the Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), district administration and police have left no stone unturned to ensure the smooth conduct of the mega festival as per government guidelines.
The Chariots of the Holy Trinity reached Singhadwara before the Holy Trinity embark on their 9-day sojourn (Rath Yatra) on Monday.
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