BHUBANESWAR: Technology may have brought Debasnan Purnima to TV screens, but it could not fill the vacuum left by the missed opportunity of watching the sibling deities — Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra — from Puri’s Grand Road facing the Jagannath Temple, for thousands of devotees on Thursday.
The clamping of Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in and around the temple ensured that the devotees were not allowed anywhere near the 12th century shrine on the auspicious occasion, which leads up to the Rath Yatra, owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
This left many among them disappointed.
“I could undoubtedly get a clearer view of the deities on my TV screen at home.
But nothing can replace the feeling of watching the deities up close and personal.
It cannot be compared with a live telecast,” Saraswati Tripathy said as she struggled to hold back her tears.
Words failed Bhagaban Mishra, a devotee from Bhubaneswar, who was at least hoping to make it to Puri this year.
“I could never have imagined that an occurrence like the Covid-19 pandemic would keep the devotees away from Lord Jagannath,” Mishra, who was a frequent visitor to the pilgrim town until Covid struck, said.
The unprecedented situation even forced Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, who is revered as the living entity of Jagannath, to skip his hereditary Chhera Pahanra service on Debasnan Purnima for the second time.
In the king’s absence, his representative Narayan Mudiratha (16), the youngest servitor of the shrine, performed the ritual in front of the deities on the Snan Mandap.
The Grand Road, which faced the bathing platform (Snan Mandap) of the temple where the deities were given a ceremonial bath, wore a deserted look in the absence of the hustle and bustle of devotees.
The chants of Jai Jagannath and dance performances by Odissi and Gotipua artists, remained low-key affairs as Puri, which used to soak the religious fervour, came under curfew.
Like last year, the district administration clamped prohibitory orders to prevent the congregation of devotees.
“The rituals of the deities were solemnized on time by the servitors, who were allowed to perform the service only after they tested negative for Covid-19.
After the ceremonial bath, the deities were decked in Gajanan Besha or elephant attire.
Various materials like thermocol, pith, bamboo, cane, cotton and flowers were used to create this attire.
The besha materials were supplied by Raghaba Das mutt and Gopalatirtha mutt,” Krishan Kumar, chief administrator of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration, said.