SJTA Advances Dhwaja Bandha Timing Amid New Year Rush

Puri: Anticipating a massive influx of devotees to the 12th-century Shree Jagannath Temple to welcome the New Year, the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) has revised the timing of the Dhwaja Bandha ritual to ensure smooth crowd management.

According to the revised schedule, the Dhwaja Bandha ritual—traditionally performed around 5:00 pm—will now be concluded by 3:00 pm. The decision has been taken to facilitate uninterrupted darshan and reduce the risk of overcrowding during peak hours, thereby ensuring a safe and orderly experience for devotees.

Temple authorities said the move reflects an effort to strike a balance between maintaining age-old traditions and managing large crowds effectively. The SJTA has appealed to devotees for cooperation, stating that the revised timing will help make New Year celebrations at the shrine more seamless.

Dhwaja Bandha, a key daily ritual of the temple, involves the ceremonial changing of the sacred flag atop the shrine. Advancing the ritual timing is also expected to allow more devotees to witness the ceremony during their New Year visit.

Meanwhile, a member of the Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee has raised objections to the practice of keeping the temple open at midnight to mark the English New Year. In a formal letter addressed to the SJTA and the Odisha government, committee member Mahesh Kumar Sahoo urged the authorities to refrain from allowing midnight darshan.

Terming the practice “non-Sanatani,” Sahoo argued that opening the temple during the intervening night of December 31 and January 1 is inconsistent with the long-established religious traditions and ethos of the shrine.