PURI: Ahead of the inauguration of the Srimandir Parikrama corridor on January 17, 2024, preliminary work commenced on Thursday. In a ceremonial procession, temple chief administrator Ranjan Kumar Das, accompanied by members of the Temple Managing Committee, district collector Samarth Verma and servitors, went to Srimandir to invite Lord Jagannath and his siblings for the momentous occasion.
After inviting the Trinity, the team also solicited the presence of other deities established in small temples inside the Srimandir premises. A team will also go to Ujjain (MP) on Friday to invite Swami Neeschalananda Saraswati, the Sankaracharya of Puri Gobardhan Peeth who has been camping there.
On the day, Verma in a meeting of all concerned and members of the servitor body approved the list of invitees for the ceremony. The meeting constituted 31 teams who will meet the VIPs and invite them to the inauguration. While 14 teams will distribute invitation cards within the state, 17 will go to different parts of the country to invite the dignitaries, religious heads of various temples and shrines, mutts and important religious institutions.
A special team will visit Nepal to invite the king who is ceremonially connected with Sri Jagannath temple. On December 26, a team of priests will go to Bhubaneswar and invite Lord Lingaraj for the occasion. Soon a team will ceremonially invite the king Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb.
The MC members, Chhatisha Nijog members, senior servitors besides temple officials participated in the meeting. The process for the inauguration will begin on January 12 with the initiation of primary work for the three-day yajna which will begin on January 15 and conclude with the offering of ‘Purna Ahuti’ by the Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb on January 17. Thereafter, the chief minister will dedicate the Parikrama corridor to devotees. On the day, Gajapati held a meeting of Sortiya Brahmins to finalise the process and timings of the Yajna.