Let’s not kill insects in the name of tradition for the Puri deities
Mobilenews24x7 Bureau
In a novel initiative to save some lives the Odisha government has decided for a deviation from the traditional bindings of killing Silk worms. Instead it has been decided to prepare fabric for the three deities of Jagannath Puri to extract silk from the live silk worms rather than killing them in the name of the Lord.
As per the tradition for Subhadra over centuries the three deities Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess are decked by Silk cloth during the Rath Yatra tenure.
Now it will be prepared aesthetically without killing the silk worms. A great step at breaking a practice of sacrificing the lives for a reason not so compulsive for taking some lives for a sacred cause.
Talking to Mobilenews 24×7, the chief secretary of government of Odisha said that the‘’ On an experimental basis some silk woven attire have been made by keeping the silk worms alive. This is an appreciable move . Our objective is not to kill any insects to make a product that would be used by the deities’’ Odisha Chief Secretary and Working Chairperson of Shree Jaganath temple Administrtion P K Jena added.
State handloom directorate has produced 88 metre length of silk Khandua in a special process without killing the silk worms.
It was resolved to use this product in the rituals. The meeting approved the festival schedule from Rajendravishekh ritual till Niladri Bije(concluding of fete) prepared jointly by the sub committee for rituals and Chhatisha nijog.
On June 4, Snan yatra(bathing ritual) day darshan of deities atop the snan vedi will continue after the ceremonial pahandi of deities from Garbhagruha to Bathing altar was over. However devotees are barred to touch the deities. Devotees will witness the famous Hati Vesha in the evening.
This apart efforts are on to complete the establishment of Gurukul schools meant for wards of temple servitors by 2024-25 academic session.
Parikrama project will be completed on the given time frame told the chief secretary PK Jena.
Even there had been a debate earlier that, he cutting of hundreds of trees to make the three chariots for the deities if can be avoided by reuse of usable woods of the previous years with an aim at conservation of forest wealth that is as such on rapid decline.
However, although the purists objected to the proposal but efforts are on way to uhser in changes in this regard.
