Puri Rath yatra:Temple to ban chariot-climbing, touching idol

Bhubaneswar, May 12, 2014, (PTI):

Ahead of the ensuing annual Rath Yatra festival, the Jagannath Temple 

Puri King Gajapati King Divyasingha Deb, who headed the committee, said this while presiding over a meeting of religious heads who supported Puri Shankaracharya Nischalananda Saraswati's view of climbing atop chariots and touching the Lord as 'sin'.

Hindu pundits from different 'matts' and sects also supported the Puri seer and opined that climbing the chariots was against Hindu religion as well as scriptures.

The issue was discussed in detail as 'Daitapati' priests, who play significant role during the Rath Yatra, opposed Shankaracharya's view.

The priests claim that the devotees should not be prevented from climbing the chariots and touch the Lord because the tradition being followed since generations.

Rejecting Daitapati's argument, the Puri King said that the practice of attaching ladder to the chariots was introduced only in 2006.

Asking the state government to implement Shankaracharya's decision in toto, Gajapati king also pointed out that the devotees need to be controlled in view of thesecurity besides religious restrictions.

"This is high time that the government must take decision and stop the practise of allowing people to climb the chariots and touching the Lord," Deb said.