PURI: Hundreds of devotees and servitors of Madhabananda Jew temple at Niali were left dejected after Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) refused to accept their offering of new clothes and sweet cakes to the Trinity and Mahalaxmi as a present for the auspicious occasion of Prathamastami.
The group of devotees and servitors on Tuesday had come in a huge procession from Niali to Puri after travelling around 60 km to make the offering. The servitors said Madhabananda Jew is the maternal uncle of Lord Jagannath.
As per tradition, new clothes and sweets arrive from the maternal uncle’s house on Prathamastami for the firstborn in a family. The servitors had earlier maintained that this ritual was discontinued since a long time and this year, it was resumed.
Earlier, the group from Madhabananda Jew temple was accorded a warm welcome by Srimandir servitors and officials after their arrival at Simhadwar of Sri Jagannath temple. Later, their offering was taken into the temple and placed in the guard room called ‘Garad’ to be used during Prathamastami ritual.
On Wednesday, Administrator (Nitee) of Sri Jagannath temple Jitendra Sahu said there was no record in the temple record of rights (RoR) reflecting the identity of the Trinity’s maternal uncle. This apart, there was no mention about this in the religious scriptures. However, the offering was accepted as donation from the Madhabananda Jew temple trust, Sahu added.