Bhubaneswar, May 17: A discussion seminar on the Rath Yatra festival was organized at the Salabega Samadhi Peeth in Balagandi, Puri, in accordance with the traditional scriptures and customs related to the Shri Jagannath Temple rituals and deity procession programs.
The speakers stated that the Shri Jagannath Temple is one of the holiest pilgrimage sites of Sanatan Dharma and one of the four sacred Char Dhams. It is not only the pride of Odisha but also a center of faith for millions of devotees across the world. For centuries, this sacred shrine has symbolized hope, trust, and devotion among devotees.
A book titled Shri Jagannath Saurabh Sambhar, prepared by the Shri Jagannath Sanskriti Prachar Sansthan, has been published to help common people understand Lord Jagannath in a simple manner. The Hindi version of the book has also been released in Himachal Pradesh.
The seminar, held at the Salabega Samadhi Peeth under the coordination of editor Shashikant Rath, was presided over by temple priest Purna Chandra Mahapatra. Dr. Narayan Mahapatra, editor Umanath Mishra, and vice-president of Puri Bhakta Samal, Pradeep Acharya, were present on the occasion.
Among the distinguished guests were Prabhat Kumar Mahapatra, Vice-Chancellor of the Central Sanskrit University, Puri; Ramachandra Das Mahapatra, Chief Badagrahi of Maa Subhadra; Satyanarayan Acharya, Vice-Chancellor of Odia University; and Ramnarayan Puja Panda Samanta.
The speakers emphasized that the Rath Yatra festival must strictly follow scriptural traditions and long-standing customs. Participants including Suresh Mishra, Rabinarayan Mahapatra, Bijay Mohan Panda, Trilochan Nayak, Sarat Mahapatra, Dr. Manoj Ray, Bharati Bhushan Pattnaik, Bansidhar Nayak, Dushmanta Dhir, Tanmaya Jena, Srinivas Rao, Chaitanya Nayak, and others demanded that the temple administration and the state government take exemplary steps to preserve and protect these traditions.
The event was organized by Shri Jagannath Sanskriti Prachar Sansthan India.
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