No ‘Indecent’ Dresses Allowed: Puri’s Jagannath Temple To Enforce Dress Code For Devotees
Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s Puri: People wearing half-plants, shorts, torn jeans, skirts, and sleeveless dresses will not be allowed entry into the temple.
The dress code will be strictly enforced inside the temple from January 1, 2024. Security personnel deployed at ‘Singha Dwar’ of the temple, and Pratihari servitors inside the temple have been assigned the responsibility to enforce the code,” Shree Jagannath Temple Administration chief Ranjan Kumar Das.
Shree Jagannath Temple Administration chief Ranjan Kumar Das said, “It is our responsibility to maintain the dignity and sanctity of the temple. Unfortunately, some people have been found visiting the temple without caring about the religious sentiments of others.”
“Some people were found in the temple wearing torn jeans, sleeveless dresses, and half-pants as if they were strolling on the sea beach or a park. The temple is the abode of God, not a place for entertainment,” he said.
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 Daitapati Nijog, a servitor’s body in Puri Srimandir has been demanding a dress code for the devotees visiting the temple, complaining that many came to the temple in shorts that hurt the religious sentiments of other devotees. The Nijog demanded that the devotees who arrive here in Western attire should have to change to enter the temple.
Senior servitor Binayak Dasmohapatra said Puri Jagannath temple is an important religious site among the 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.
Dress code for devotees at Jagannath Temple
On the kind of dresses to be allowed, Das said that it would soon be decided.
They said that the temple administration will start creating awareness about the dress code among the devotees from Tuesday.
