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Lord Jagannath Temple in Puri, Orissa. Source: Wikipedia

A massive cleansing ritual of the Lord Jagannath Temple in Puri, Orissa was undertaken after a non-Hindu American, Paul Rodgier, "desecrated" the sanctum sanctorum. The incident occured on Feb 2, 2007.

Non-Hindus are barred from entering the temple, which is located 65 km south of Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa, and is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. But Paul Rodgier, a U.S. national, accompanied by two Hindu Indians, entered the temple inadvertently on Thursday. The police picked up Rodgier and his companions after temple authorities threw them out of the temple.

The temple authorities said they had to conduct a purification ritual as prescribed in Hindu scriptures following the desecration.

"If the non-believer enters then we have to follow the rituals according to the records of rights. If such a man has entered the temple of Lord Jagannath then the holy idols have to be washed and the holy offering has to be thrown out," said Surya Narayan Rath Sharma, a priest of the Jagannath Temple.

The police said Rodgier was not arrested as there was no such provision in the law. He was released after paying a fine of 209 rupees to the temple authorities.

"At around 2.00 p.m., a US national and two Indians went to the temple. They purchased the tickets and went inside. The priests objected and the foreigner was evicted. When we received information, we came and took the three into custody," said Alekh Chaudhary Pahi, the Head Constable at the Puri Police station.

Rodgier, a New Yorker, is in Orissa working on a National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) project.

He said he was unaware of any such rule and missed the message on board outside the temple which said: "Only Hindus are allowed".

"No, I had no idea. There was quite a fuss and I was escorted outside and told to wait outside which I did," said Rodgier.

The 12th century Jagannath temple is one of the holiest places for Hindus and is usually swarmed with devotees, who come to get a glimpse of it.

According to Hindu believers, Lord Jagannath is the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the Preserver, one of the trinity of the Hindu pantheon. The other two are Brahma, the Creator and Shiva, the Destroyer.

Lord Jagannath's idol is carved in wood, unlike other Hindu temples where the idols are made of granite or a combination of metals.

Temple servitors are reportedly divided over what kind of measure is to be taken as to purify the sanctum sanctorum of the Jagannath Temple here.

The deities, Lords Jagannath, Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra, are said to have fasted for 24 hours in the wake of a debate whether the deities should undergo a mahasnan (purification bath) or the entire temple complex should undergo a re-consecration.

Temple rituals resumed on Friday noon with rituals like Abakash, Mangal Arati, Mailum being observed and with the offering of Kothabhog to the deities.

The devotees were able to buy 'bhog' on Friday, but they were deprived of cooked mahaprasad on the day. The cooks have demanded compensation for their losses.

The incident has also raised questions about security arrangements at the temple. The administration has been asked to probe, temple security functioning and. (ANI)

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