Bhubaneswar: The rituals of Lord Lingaraj at the Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar have remained suspended since Tuesday evening following a dispute among servitors. Due to the disruption, the scheduled evening rituals could not be performed.

As the rituals did not take place, the Badu servitors conducted the Pahuda of the deity at around 9:30 pm. As a result, Lord Lingaraj remained without food throughout the night. Even till Wednesday morning, no food offering could be made to the deity.

Dispute Over ‘Kheera Auta’ Ritual

According to temple tradition, from Makar Sankranti to Kumbha Sankranti, special treatment and ghee application are performed to protect the deity from winter cold. For this, the ‘Kheera Auta’ ritual is held on the eve of Makar Sankranti.

On Tuesday evening, preparations for the evening dhupa were completed. The Brahmin Nijog servitors arranged the ritual items. However, a section of servitors objected to offering bhoga, alleging that essential items like milk had not arrived and temple officials were absent.

Rituals Stuck Amid Disagreement

Although some ritual items later reached the temple, milk was still unavailable, according to the objecting servitors. They insisted that rituals would proceed only after the arrival of temple officials. Due to the disagreement, the ritual process came to a halt.

Repeat of Last Year’s Situation

A similar situation had occurred last year on the same occasion, when a dispute over the ‘Kheera Auta’ ritual led to Lord Lingaraj remaining outside the sanctum without food.