Accusing the Odisha government of interfering in religious matters, Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati today announced that he would not visit the chariots before they were pulled for "Rath Yatra" tomorrow.
"It is enough. The state government has dared to dictate terms to the Shankaracharya of Puri. I will not visit the chariots tomorrow before they are pulled for Rath Yatra," Saraswati told reporters at Govardhan Peeth at Puri.
The Shankaracharya's reaction came immediately after his office received a letter from the Sri Jagannth Temple Administration.
The letter said that the Shankaracharya should pay "darshan" to the trinity Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath alone on the chariots and he must not be accompanied by his disciples.
The SJTA's letter to Govardhan Peeth, the seat of the Shankaracharya, came after some priests alleged that Saraswati paid darshan along with his disciples every year.
"We respect the seer and will allow him onto the chariots. But he should not take his disciples along with him as he had been doing," said Ramakrushna Dasmohapatra, president of Daitapati Nijog.
"We are self-disciplined. I know how many disciples will accompany me onto the chariots. The administration should not try to teach the Shankaracharya," the Shankaracharya replied.
Stating that he was aware of the inconvenience being created for the people due to rush on the chariots, the Shankaracharya said, "We are the first to advocate on lessening the crowd on chariots. Therefore, there should not be any attempt to teach us.
