A senior temple official announced on Monday that visitors to the Jagannath temple in Puri town must wear “decent” dress as of January 1 of next year. Beginning on January 1, the dress code will be strictly enforced.
“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.
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 action was taken after the temple management implemented a dress code for servants beginning on October 20, 2021, two years prior. All servants are required to follow the dress code by donning a dhoti, a towel, and a patta while doing puja.
The Daitapati Nijog, a servitor’s body at Puri Srimandir, has been requesting a dress code for pilgrims, claiming that many of them arrived at the temple wearing shorts, which offended other pilgrims’ religious sensibilities. The Nijog insisted that visitors who arrive in western clothing change before entering 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.
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.
According to Dasmohapatra, women devotees visit many temples in south India while dressed in a saree and salwar.
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Source: HT
