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Puri, May 26: Shankaracharya of Puri Govardhan Peeth Swami Nischalananda Saraswati Tuesday agreed to attend Rath Yatra and Debasnana Purnima rituals along with his six disciples, after accepting the invitation from Gajapati Divyasingh Dev and Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA).
Gajapati Maharaja and temple administration committee members who called on the Govardhan Peeth head at 11.30am to invite him for the annual car festival and all associated rituals.
After holding confabulations with the seer, Dev confirmed to media that the pontiff along with his disciples would make it to the car festival and other rituals.
“We have great respect for the seer. The temple administration had made a mistake last year by advising the seer to attend the fest and preventing his disciples from going up the chariot. This time, there will not be any such miscommunication,” Dev told to mediapersons.
To a question on whether the Shankaracharya’s disciples could touch the deities atop the chariot, Dev said,” The record of rights considers touching the deities as sin. The temple managing committee and the Orissa High Court also stand firm over the issue. So, no devotee should touch the deities.’’
“The managing committee assured me that there would not be a recurrence of the past mistake. So, I humbly accept the invitation of the temple managing committee to attend the car festival and Snana Purnima,” the Puri seer said.
“It has been a custom for the Puri Shankaracharya to have a darshan of the deities on the chariot along with his 27 disciples. It has been a tradition for years. As I do not want to crowd the chariot, I would take only six disciples,” Shankaracharya said.
“The administration has not consulted with me about Nabakalebara I just pray for the smooth conduct of the festival as per the Scriptures,” the Seer said.