Dress code for devotees at Jagannath temple in Puri from Jan 1

SJTA chief administrator Ranjan Kumar Das said devotees should not wear clothes such as shorts, ripped jeans and skirts

Published on: Oct 9, 2023, 22:08:57 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Bhubaneswar: From January 1 next year, devotees will have to wear ‘decent’ clothes to enter the Jagannath temple in Puri town, a senior temple official said on Monday.

The temple administration introduced a dress code for servitors from October 2021. (X/SJTA_Puri)

“Devotees should wear traditional clothes while visiting Jagannath temple. They should not wear clothes such as shorts, ripped jeans and skirts. Dress code has been introduced at several shrines across the country,” said Sree Jagannath Temple Administration, or SJTA chief administrator Ranjan Kumar Das.

The dress code will be strictly implemented from January 1.

A second temple official said the awareness campaigns to ask devotees to wear “decent clothes” in the temple will start from Tuesday. “The Jagannath temple police and the temple servitors would keep an eye on anyone wearing indecent clothes,” the official added.

The move comes two years after the temple administration introduced a dress code for servitors from October 20, 2021. As per the dress code, all the servitors have to wear dhoti, towel, and patta while performing puja.

The Daitapati Nijog, a servitor’s body in Puri Srimandir has been demanding a dress code for the devotees visiting the temple, complaining that many came to the temple in shorts that hurt religious sentiments of other devotees. The Nijog demanded that the devotees who arrive here in western attire should have to change to enter the temple.

Senior servitor Binayak Dasmohapatra said Puri Jagannath temple is an important religious site among four dhams. “Thousands of devotees visit Puri for the darshan of Lord Jagannath. Therefore, implementing a dress code for all devotees is essential to uphold the temple’s spirituality and sanctity,” he said.

Dasmohapatra said in several temples in south India, women devotees go to the temples wearing salwar and saree.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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