No major activity takes place at Gundicha temple in Puri most of the year. But during the seven days when Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and goddess Subhadra come here for their sojourn, the place becomes one of the most sought-after destinations of the state. It has been a tradition that people, especially women, who come for darshan voluntarily clean the surroundings of the temple including the main road in front of the temple. The practice still continues. Orissa POST caught up with some women who visited the Gundicha temple and cleaned the premises.
Kalyani Parida of Bhubaneswar, who visits Puri every year during the festival, said, “I believe that maintaining cleanliness is our collective duty. A clean environment always radiates positive energy. This tradition perhaps began as an effort to promote hygiene that needs to be maintained around the year. Though ‘Swachh Bharat’ campaign started a few years back, the practice of cleaning the road in front of the temple is a very old one and gives a message to society that we should always keep our environment clean.”
Arundhati Samal of Bhubaneswar said, “According to legend, in the 16th century, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, a Hindu saint and chief proponent of the Gaudiya Vaishnavism tradition, cleaned the Gundicha temple with the help of his disciples. Steeped in devotion, he used to cry with joy while cleaning. The great devotee of Lord Jagannath would gather the rags in his cloth and dump them outside the temple.
“This service of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to the Lord was a symbolic one. Perhaps he wanted to send the message that our heart is like a temple. We need to purify our heart as well as mind to discover the Lord within us,” she added.
Pragyan Pattnaik of Berhampur said, “God has created this universe and we need to take care of it. There is also a message for the younger generation in this practice of temple cleaning. We should keep our surroundings clean like we do the abode of the God. Rich and poor both clean the temple here. This tradition should encourage the youth to protect their environment.”
Kiranbala Mohanty of Cuttack said, “No matter the religion to which you belong, the place of worship should always be kept clean. If human beings can’t live in dirty surroundings, why should we litter the place of worship? This age-old tradition of cleaning the road and the temple premises before entering underlines the hidden message from God that He wants all of us to live in a neat and clean environment.”
SOYONG, OP