Rajnagar: Devotees of Lord Jagannath in Keradagarh area of Rajnagar block that comes under Kendrapara district Thursday celebrated Rath Yatra with pomp and gaiety.
The festival here is special, since this is the only occasion when the devotees get a glimpse of their Lord up-close.
Entry to this five hundred year old shrine, famed as a ‘dham’ (holy abode) of Kendrapara, has been restricted for all. Devotees can only have a darshan of their lord from the Lion’s gate.
The incident that keeps the lord out of bounds to people traces to an incident back in 2006 when few lower caste women entered the temple on the occasion of ‘Kartik Purnima’. This did not go down well with the servitors who vehemently protested against it and stopped the rituals of the temple for as many as 15 days.
The then Kanika king Rabi Narayan Bhanj Deo and then Kendrapara MP Shatrughna Parida solved the issue after the servitors were informed that outsiders would be barred from entering the temple.
Visitor’s entry into the temple has been restricted ever since. Devotees get a glimpse of their Lords from the Lion’s gate in this temple all year long making the car festival here bear greater significance since it offers them a once-a-year opportunity to see their Lord Jagannath up-close.
PNN