Temple Dispute / Servitor Dispute Disrupts Lingaraj Temple Rituals on First Shravan Monday

Bhubaneswar, Aug 3: Rituals at the historic Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar were disrupted on the first Monday of the holy month of Shravan after a dispute between two groups of servitors over the distribution of allowances left devotees offering water to the deity without the customary puja rituals being performed.

The disagreement, involving members of the Brahman and Badu servitor groups, reportedly began on Sunday evening and continued into Monday morning, affecting the temple's daily schedule, a source said.

Dispute Over Shravan Allowance Distribution
According to the source, the dispute centred on the distribution of 'Shravan Pauna' (traditional allowance) between the Brahman and Badu servitors.

While Badu servitors performed their assigned rituals early on Monday, the Puja Panda (Brahman ) servitors did not carry out their scheduled rituals due to the ongoing disagreement.

As a result, devotees were allowed to offer holy water to Lord Lingaraj without the customary worship rituals being completed.

Labelling allegations against the Brahman Nijog, General Secretary of Badu Nijog, Kamalakanta Badu said, "The temple was opened at 3am, following which we carried out all the customary services of the deity. We waited until 4am for the Puja Panda servitors to arrive, but they did not turn up. As a result, we performed the Abakash ritual and opened the temple to allow Kanwariya devotees to offer holy water to the deity."

He further said it has been demanding 50 per cent of the Shravan allowance since 1991. However, it alleged that the Puja Panda Nijog moved the court, leading to the suspension of the allowance. Even after a court order in 2024, the dues were not released, Badu claimed.

The Badu Nijog alleged that after a decision was taken to release their pending allowance, the Puja Panda servitors stopped performing their duties in protest, resulting in the disruption of temple rituals.

Responding to the allegations, Sachikanta Panda, secretary of the Puja Panda Nijog, rejected the claims made by the Badu Nijog and blamed the latter for triggering the dispute.

"They started the temple rituals without waiting until 6am for us. We had repeatedly written to the temple trust seeking a permanent solution to this long-standing issue, but no resolution was reached. That is why such disputes keep recurring," Panda said.

He further alleged that the Badu Nijog had no legitimate claim over the 'Daba Kunda' money and questioned why its members continued to collect it. According to him, the Badu servitors reached the temple nearly one-and-a-half hours earlier than the scheduled time and began the rituals without waiting for the Puja Panda servitors.

"If there is a deviation in one ritual, we have made it clear that we will not cooperate in the subsequent rituals," Panda said. He, however, expressed hope that the impasse would be resolved soon, adding that the temple rituals were expected to return to normal from Tuesday.

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Fresh Disruption Months After Earlier Clash
The latest disruption comes just months after a major confrontation at the temple in April this year, when a clash between the Brahman Nijog and Badu Nijog servitor groups forced the suspension of rituals for several hours.

The April dispute allegedly erupted after Sahanamela darshan over the removal of a sacred silver covering used in the deity's ceremonial rituals. The altercation turned violent, leaving several servitors injured and hundreds of devotees stranded inside the temple premises.

Temple rituals resumed only after the Lingaraj Temple administration convened a meeting between both servitor groups. Bhubaneswar Additional District Magistrate and Lingaraj Temple Executive Officer Ramesh Jena had then said the administration intervened to resolve the dispute through discussions.

Recurring Disputes Raise Concerns
The April incident itself followed another disruption in February, when rituals were delayed by around 20 to 30 minutes after a dispute between two servitor groups over facilitating darshan for a servitor's family members.

The recurring disagreements have raised concerns over the smooth conduct of rituals at one of Odisha's most revered Shaivite shrines, particularly during important religious occasions that draw thousands of devotees.