2 Puri servitors allege medicines for healing deities stolen; govt rejects charge
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Bhubaneswar: With two days left for Rath Yatra, two prominent servitors of Puri Jagannath temple stirred a controversy on Tuesday by claiming that some herbal medicines meant for the ceremonial treatment of the sibling deities were stolen from the shrine premises on Saturday.
The govt dismissed the allegations and warned of action against anyone spreading 'misleading' information.
Senior servitor Haladhara Dasmohapatra, who is the custodian (Badagrahi) of Lord Balabhadra, alleged that at least 70 'Dasamula Modaka', a type of ball-shaped herbal medicine, were missing from a total of 313 stored in the Garada, a chamber within the temple complex on Saturday. These offerings were kept in Garada for the ceremonial treatment of the deities, who become unwell following their sacred bath during Debasnan Purnima on June 11.
Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra are subsequently placed in an isolation chamber, known as Anasara Gruha, where they continue their recovery. The deities, inaccessible to worshippers since June 12, will recover fully and grant darshan on Thursday, on the eve of Rath Yatra.
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"Raja Vaidyas, a group of servitors, prepared the Dasamula Modaka. I noticed the missing items when I entered the Garada to collect the medicine for the treatment of deities on Saturday.
This is a serious and unpardonable act. This never happened in the temple's history. SJTA should conduct an investigation and punish those responsible for the theft," Haladhara said, adding, "I submitted a written complaint to the temple administration on Sunday.
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Lord Jagannath's custodian, Jagannath Swain Mohapatra, endorsed Haladhara's claim. "I also strongly suspect the theft of Modaka. The govt should conduct an inquiry," Mohapatra said.
Law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan rebutted the allegations. "The Modaka theft allegation is completely baseless. Certain people are spreading false narratives for personal publicity. We will take action against those trying to create confusion," Harichandan said.
Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) strongly refuted the two servitors' charges. "Our preliminary investigation found that the allegations are not true. Modakas are not counted by the SJTA. As per our temple record, all the Modakas that were offered to the deities were handed over to the Daitapati Nijog's (an association of servitors) secretary," SJTA chief administrator Arabinda Kumar Padhee said.
Daitapati Nijog secretary, Ramakrushna Dasmohapatra, who was recently suspended following a controversy surrounding Digha Jagannath temple's naming as 'Jagannath dham', was unavailable for comment.
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