For the first time in the last several decades, the wooden doors of 12th century Jagannath temple, including the ones guarding the sanctum sanctorum, would be silver-plated with 2,500 kg of the precious metal donated by a Mumbai-based devotee of the Lord.
Temple administrators and members of the temple managing committee said a 17-member committee formed to approve the design and other modalities of the silver-cladding work would meet on October 27 for further action.
“The gates of Kaalahaat dwar, Jaya-Vijay dwar, Beharana dwar, Satpahach dwar, West Bhog Mandap dwar, Narasingh Temple dwar, Bimala Temple dwar and Mahalakshmi Temple dwar will be clad with silver sheets made out of over 2,500 kg silver donated by a Mumbai-based devotee. The existing doors were worn out and will be replaced with the ones made from Burma Teakwood imported from Malaysia. The devotee is also donating the wood needed for the doors,” said temple administrator (development) Ajay Jena.
The silver valued at Rs 15.32 crore would be kept in a strong room till the carving of the 8 doors is complete. In the initial stage, three main doors- Jay Bijay dwar, Kaalahaat dwar and Beherana dwar will be clad with silver.
The wood of these doors has been damaged due to wear and tear and the servitors were having a difficult time in locking them. While the Jay Bijay dwara is the main entrance leading to the sanctum sanctorum, the Kaalahaata dwara is the door of the sanctum sanctorum. The Beharana dwara is the door through which devotees exit after having a darshan of the three deities.
Meanwhile, the temple management is yet to take a decision on whether the Nagarjuna Vesha of the three deities, scheduled to be held on November 27, can be thrown open to the public. During ‘Nagarjuna Vesha’ the deities are depicted as warriors with the war weapons and Sudarshana Chakra. As per mythology, the Nagarjuna Vesha is celebrated to commemorate the killing of Sahastrarjun by Lord Parsuram. This would be the first Nagarjuna Vesha in the 21st century. The last one was held in 1994.
The temple has been shut since March after Covid lockdown was announced. Over 400 temple servitors were found infected by Covid further delaying its reopening.
Early this month, the proposal of a Sri Jagannath temple managing committee to arrange online darshan of the deities was met with stiff opposition from the servitors. The servitors had argued that many secret services are being performed daily in the sanctum sanctorum which outsiders should not witness.
By Hindustan Times
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