BHUBANESWAR: The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) expressed its full support on Decembeer 30 for a letter previously written by Pandit Mahesh Kumar Sahu, a member of the Shrimandir Managing Committee, regarding the opening of Shrimandir at midnight on December 31.
VHP has urged the Odisha Law Minister and the Chief Administrator of the Shrimandir to reconsider the practice of opening the Shree Jagannath Temple at midnight on December 31, terming it contrary to Sanatan Hindu traditions.
Addressing a press conference on Monday, VHP Odisha (Purv) Prant President Professor Prafulla Kumar Mishra expressed serious objections to the recent practice of opening the temple at midnight to mark the Gregorian New Year. He stated that Bhagwan Jagannath is the presiding deity of Sanatan Hindus and that all Shrimandir rituals and traditions have been followed strictly in accordance with ancient scriptures for centuries.
Professor Mishra pointed out that while the practice of opening the temple at midnight on January 1 has emerged in recent years, it does not align with Hindu religious beliefs or traditions. He emphasised that the issue is highly sensitive, as the Hindu New Year is traditionally observed on Chaitra Shukla Pratipada, a fact supported by Vedic and scientific principles that associate the New Year with natural and seasonal transitions rather than calendar date changes.
He further stated that altering the daily rituals of Bhagwan Jagannath solely on the basis of a calendar date is inappropriate. Referring to Bhagwan Jagannath as the embodiment of “human divine play,” Professor Mishra said the deity should not be subjected to forced night vigils and that the temple’s age-old daily rituals should continue naturally without disruption.
Speaking on the occasion, VHP Provincial Joint Secretary Umashankar Acharya said that the organisation has already conveyed its concerns to the Chief Administrator of the Shrimandir, Gajapati Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati, as well as to the Law and Works Minister of Odisha.
Meanwhile, VHP Prant Executive President Pavitra Kumar Swain also endorsed the letter and stressed that Hindu sentiments and Sanatan traditions should under no circumstances be undermined. He appealed to the Shrimandir administration to give the matter serious consideration and reach an appropriate decision.
