Bhubaneswar: The presiding deity at the Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar remained neglected and hungry for the second consecutive day as the dispute between two groups of servitors remained unresolved on Tuesday.
It is worth mentioning here that the Mahasura and Badu servitors stopped the Makar Sankranti rituals at the temple on Monday evening over a dispute as to which group would conduct the ‘Ghruta Kamala’ ritual.
The deity was taken to the Makara Mandap outside the sanctum sanctorum of the temple on Monday evening and has been seated there since.
According to tradition, ‘Ghruta Kamala’ prepared with milk is applied on the ‘Shree Mukha’ of the deity every year on the occasion of Makar Sankranti. Traditionally, both Badu and Mahasuara servitors offer the ‘Ghruta Kamala’ to Lord Lingaraj. On Monday, the Badu servitors demanded to perform the ritual alone and this led to a dispute with the Mahasuara servitors.
Eventually, the ritual was not performed and all other rituals, including offering bhoga, were also stalled.
