‘Kansa’ atones for sins: takes holy dip in sea, begs forgiveness from Lord

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Puri, Jan 6:

Hrushikesh Bhoi, the man who played the role of mythical tyrant king of Matura Kansa, along with persons who played the characters of his ministers at the world famous 11-day Dhanu Yatra in Odisha’s Bargarh town, took a holy dip in the sea in Puri this morning and visited the Shree Jagannath temple to seek forgiveness and get themselves cleansed of the “sins” they committed while enacting their roles.

As the uncle of Lord Krishna during the Bargarh Dhanu Yatra that concluded yesterday, Bhoi felt he had offended the Lord and humans too.

Bhoi and other members of his troupe first took a bath in the sea to be rid of their bad deeds as Kansa and his ministers and then proceeded to meet and seek forgiveness from Shankaracharya of Govardhanpeeth Swami Nischalananda Saraswati.

“I come here every year after the play concludes with Kansa’s death to seek forgiveness for having acted as a cruel ruler and for utterances and acts against my nephew Lord Jagannath. I beg forgiveness for having been rude and inhuman as well as offending Lord Krishna. I come here to meet Lord Jagannath to purify my heart,” said Bhoi.

“Those who enact the roles of Ravaan or Kansa in plays have the blessings of the Lord. He only enacted as Kansa but the motive was to spread awareness about goodness. Yet he is so humble to ask forgiveness from the Lord. He is a blessed soul”, said Govardhanpeeth Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati.

Bhoi who prostrated on all fours before the Shankarcharya to atone for his sins was felicitated by the spiritual guru, who put a scarf around his neck.

Later Bhoi and his fellow actors left for the Shree Mandir, where they had a darshan of the Lords.

“Lord Jagannath is the deity of my soul and I wanted him to know I was only enacting the part of a tyrant sincerely since it is my duty to make Dhanu yatra a success,” said Bhoi after having the darshan.

“I am a believer in goodness and want to tell everyone that good always prevails over evil,” he said.

Like every year, this year too Bhoi won acclaim and appreciation from politicians and art lovers for his performance as Kansa.