Keonjhar: A huge controversy has erupted over the 72-ft high chariot of Lord Sri Sri Baladevjew in Keonjhar after a religious outfit of Kendrapara staged a protest in the coastal town Friday alleging violation of age-old tradition of Rath Yatra. The chariot of Baladevjew in Keonjhar is regarded as the tallest as per the Guinness Book of World Records.
However, this has not gone down well with Baladev Sena, a religious outfit of Kendrapara. Its activists staged protests Friday in Kendrapara and submitted a memorandum to the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) chief of Puri, the Shankaracharya, Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb and the district Collector.
Members of this outfit have demanded action against the organisers of the Rath Yatra in Keonjhar for violating age-old tradition. On the other hand, devotees and servitors of Sri Sri Baladevjew temple here have reacted to the opposition from the Kendrapara’s outfit. Scores of devotees and servitors also staged a sit-in near the chariot here Friday. They argued that construction of the 72-ft high chariot is an old tradition and this is different from other chariots. They also lamented that nurturing such intolerance towards religious traditions here is very unfortunate and it hurts the sentiments of lakhs of devotees.
According to Baladev Sena, chariots cannot be constructed as per the whims and fancies of any outfit. This is clear violation of religious traditions, they added. Besides, servitors of Srimandir in Puri have also opposed the move by Baladevjew Temple Administration in Keonjhar. It was alleged that a senior Daitapati of Puri Srimandir has said that Rath Yatra is a religious festival with spiritual significance. The annual festival of Lord Jagannath is beyond any competition. Constructing the tallest chariot to be placed in the Guinness Book of World Records is like committing a sin.
However, the servitors of Keonjhar temple have termed the remarks made by Puri Daitapati and people of Kendrapara as deplorable. They pointed out that the Nadighosh Rath in Keonjhar has been the tallest chariot since 16th century. There is a lot of difference in temple structures between Puri and Keonjhar. The Puri temple has Singhadwar but the Keonjhar temple has Byaghradwar.
In Keonjhar, Singhadwar is faced eastwards while the Byaghradwar is faced westward. The colour of Devi Subhadra in Keonjhar is red while the colour of the Goddess in Puri in yellow. Puri temple has tradition of Nabakalebara, but the Keonjhar temple has no such tradition. As for the issue, executive officer of the endowment department and sub-collector Ramchandra Kisku said, “The chariot making is being done as per the age-old traditions. There should not be any dispute over this.”
