Odisha seeks Centre's help as Puri Temple faces Kasturi crunch

The Puri Jagannath Temple is facing a shortage of 'Kasturi' (musk collected from a stag's navel) and the Odisha government has urged the Centre to ensure its procurement from Nepal before next year's Navakalebara festival.
Sources in the Odisha government confirmed that the state Chief Secretary has written to the Foreign Secretary, seeking assistance in procuring 'Kasturi', which is used during Navakalebara festival held after every 19 years.
Kasturi, an aromatic substance, is collected from the stag's gland, also known as musk pod.
Till now, the temple used to meet its requirement of 'Kasturi' through its donation by Nepal kings, who were great devotees of the Lord.

However, after the fall of the monarchy, the temple is facing acute scarcity of the substance, a source in the temple administration said.
"I have drawn attention of the Chief Secretary to the scarcity of Kasturi. The temple had last received Kasturi from Nepal king in 2002. The stock has been exhausted," chief administrator of the Jagannath Temple Aravind Padhee said.

Temple authorities prefer Kasturi from Nepal because of its purity, he said, adding that though devotees also donate it, the quality does not match the one received from Nepal.
The Nepal Royal family used to donate Kasturi free of cost to the temple.

However, now with the shortage in its supply, the temple administration is ready to purchase it at the market rate which is thrice that of the gold, a source said.
Other than the Puri Shankaracharya and the Gajapati King of Odisha, only the Nepal king is allowed to ascend the Ratna Vedi (the altar on which Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra are placed).