The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) in Bhubaneswar has found itself at the center of a major controversy and has been forced to issue a public apology. This comes after devotees and temple servitors strongly criticized glaring mistakes in the administration's official New Year calendar. The errors involved the sacred depiction of the deities and the sequence of the world-famous Rath Yatra.
What Were the Mistakes in the Calendar?
The calendar, which was released earlier this week, contained two significant factual inaccuracies that deeply upset the faithful. The first error was in the traditional seating arrangement of the sibling deities inside the sanctum sanctorum of the Puri temple. As servitor Ganesh Mahasuar pointed out, the correct order, from a viewer's perspective, is Lord Balabhadra on the left, Devi Subhadra in the middle, and Lord Jagannath on the right. However, the calendar mistakenly swapped the positions of Lord Jagannath and Lord Balabhadra.
The second major blunder was in the illustration of the Rath Yatra. The sacred and immutable sequence for pulling the chariots is: Lord Balabhadra's Taladhwaja first, followed by Devi Subhadra's Darpadalan, and finally Lord Jagannath's Nandighosh. The calendar incorrectly portrayed Devi Subhadra's chariot being pulled first, followed by Lord Jagannath's and then Lord Balabhadra's.
Backlash from Devotees and Political Reactions
The mistakes triggered immediate and widespread anger. Servitor Sarat Mohanty stated that the errors had hurt the religious sentiments of countless devotees and demanded that the calendars be reprinted correctly. Devotee Debasis Das emphasized that any deviation from established Jagannath culture and tradition is unacceptable and that the administration should have verified the content thoroughly before publication.
The issue quickly took a political turn. The opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the Congress party accused the government of undermining 'Odia Asmita' (Odia identity). State Congress president Bhakta Charan Das and BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty described the distortion as a direct threat to tradition. In response, the BJP urged the opposition not to politicize the sensitive matter. Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan confirmed the government was aware and taking corrective steps, adding that he had spoken with SJTA authorities to ascertain how the error occurred.
SJTA's Apology and Explanation
Facing intense criticism, the SJTA on Wednesday issued an apology and announced it was stopping the sale of the calendars with immediate effect. In a statement, the administration provided an explanation for the errors. They clarified that the controversial images were sourced from a centuries-old palm-leaf manuscript preserved in the state museum.
The SJTA stated that it was an inadvertent error and that the historical artwork was included as a reflection of an ancient style, not as an official or accurate representation of current temple rituals. Despite this explanation, the administration acknowledged the oversight and the hurt caused to the devotees' sentiments, leading to their decision to withdraw the calendar from the market.
