Donations worth Rs 113 crore received at Puri’s Jagannath temple in last 3 financial years

The Jagannath temple in Puri has received donations of Rs 113.02 crore in the last three financial years, Odisha Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan told the assembly on December 7. In written reply to a question, Harichandan said the temple received Rs 40.61 crore through donation boxes, Rs 59.79 crore through bank accounts and another Rs 12.60 crore through other sources from 2021-22 to 2023-24.

The highest donation of Rs 50.80 crore was received in 2022-23, while Rs 44.90 crore was donated in 2023-24 and Rs 17.31 crore was donated in 2021-22. Meanwhile, President Droupadi Murmu recently walked about one kilometre on the Grand Road to offer prayers at the 12th century Lord Jagannath Temple.

As the president walked on the road like a common devotee, hundreds of people lined up on both sides of the road and greeted her.

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The temple was closed for public for some time to facilitate the first citizen to have a smooth darshan of the sibling deities- Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath, in the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine.

The President was accompanied by her daughter Itishree Murmu, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Deputy CM Pravati Parida, Puri MP Sambit Patra and others.

“I sought blessings of the Lord and prayed for the people of India and wished their wellbeing,” Murmu said after offering puja at the temple. She spent about 30 minutes inside the temple. Upon her arrival at the temple, she was greeted by the Shree Jaganbath Temple Administration.

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She knelt before the sibling deities in the sanctum sanctorum in obeisance and offered aarti to the Lords, said Rajratan Mohapatra, the servitor who guided the President’s darshan. The President also offered puja to Maa Bimala and Maha Laxmi inside the temple premises. A flag was tied in her name atop the temple seeking blessings for the country.

In seperate news, the Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee informed the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) that Rath Yatra should be held between the second and tenth day of Shukla Paksha in Ashadha month in accordance with scriptural guidelines.

The SJTM, the highest decision-making body of the 12th-century Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri, emphasised that there should be no deviation from the prescribed ‘Tithi’ (dates) for the annual Rath Yatra, which is usually held in June-end or July.