PURI: Having served saints and scholars for years, the historic Emar Mutt near Sri Jagannath Temple is on its way to history books.
The demolition of the Mutt, being undertaken by the administration as part of the plan to clear structures within 75-metre radius of the 12th-century shrine on security grounds and to transform the pilgrim city into an international heritage destination, is almost complete.
Strategically located in front of Simhadwar of the temple, the Raghunandan library in the Mutt, probably the oldest in the State, had been a major attraction for scholars from across the country.
The Mutt, the richest in the State, had played a vital role in religious governance for centuries.
Dr Surendra Mishra, considered an authority on Sri Jagannath Temple, said the Mutt was established in 1150 AD by Tamil saint Sri Rajgopalacharya, who founded ‘Sri Sampradaya’ during the regime of Gajapati Cholagang Deb.
Under his influence, the king established the Mahalaxmi temple in Sri Jagannath Temple complex. The king also granted vast tracts of farmland in various parts of his State to the Mutt and allowed religious services for the presiding deity.
The Mutt also came forward to the rescue of the rulers during the famine of 1866. It opened its granary for the needy and distributed alms among the impoverished people of Odisha.
There is an interesting tale behind the naming of the Mutt. It started with Saint Ramanujacharya, a native of ‘Mailapur’ now located in the heart of Chennai. Leaving behind his ardent disciple Gobindacharya in Puri, the saint left to propagate his cult in other parts of the country.
Gobindacharya named the Mutt after his guru and in course of time, around 200 years ago, it was renamed as ‘Mannath Ramanujacharya’ or MR Mutt which was later pronounced as Emar Mutt, informed Dr Mishra, who has served as a research scholar on Jagannath cult in Sri Jagannath Sanskrit University for 30 years.
He said the Mutt rendered numerous services in the temple and was functionally connected with it. This has been mentioned in the records at the temple office and Masala panji, the official chronicle of the king, maintained by Deula Karan.
It guided and fed the Daitas in their month-long quest for ‘Daru,’ the holy wood used for construction of the idols of the Trinity, and housed them at its branch, the Deuli mutt near Kakatpur in Puri district.
Emar Mutt has Tamil origins but with passage of time, it was headed by North Indian saints who became mahantas.
The Mutt had its share of controversy when in 2011, police chanced upon a secret room in its complex and recovered 522 pieces of silver ingots weighing over 18 tonne and worth Rs 100 crore.
The Mahant of the Mutt was arrested along with others for theft.