Bhubaneswar: Ahead of the ensuing annual Rath Yatra festival, the Jagannath Temple managing committee today asked the Odisha government to stop the practice of devotees climbing atop chariots and touching the Lord.
Puri King Gajapati King Divyasingha Deb, who headed the committee, said this while presiding over a meeting of religious heads who supported Puri Shankaracharya Nischalananda Saraswati's view of climbing atop chariots and
touching the Lord as ‘sin'.
Hindu pundits from different ‘matts' and sects also supported the Puri seer and opined that climbing the chariots was against Hindu religion as well as scriptures.
The issue was discussed in detail as ‘Daitapati' priests, who play significant role during the Rath Yatra, opposed Shankaracharya's view.
