PURI, INDIA, April 7, 2007: The Puri palace is abuzz with activity for Lilabati Pattamahadei’s Gahan Bije–the queen’s once-in-a-lifetime private visit to the Jagannath temple. In another corner of the city, a small house in a narrow lane is sharing the limelight. 11-year old Lokanath Mudirasta, will have the privilege of conducting puja for the royal couple tomorrow. According to tradition, a boy priest should be present, along with a married Brahmin woman, when the king and queen offer prayers during Gahan Bije. “I know exactly what I have to do,” says Lokanath, the Class VII student of Utkal HIndi Vidyapith. Lokanath got the sanction to perform as priest after a sari-tying ceremony in the temple on January 13. “I had been to the king with my grandfather and the king told me what I have to do. I can carry out my duties without any help.” Lokanath belongs to the Mudirasta families of priests who carry out day-to-day rituals in the temple on behalf of the king, Gajapati Dibyasingh Deb.
Lokanath will accompany the royal couple’s procession after word is sent to the palace that the temple has been sanitized. Once in the sanctum sanctorum, the boy priest will climb the Ratna Simhasan, hand over a Khandua Pata (a traditional Orissa sari) to the king, which he will tie around the queen’s head–giving her sanction as a servant of the Lord. The couple will then perform arati before the gods. The king said his family is looking forward to the Gahan Bije. “This is a significant occasion because the queen will offer seva (service) before the lords for the first time. Other relatives will be there for darshan,” he told The Telegraph over the phone. The king has invited nearly 50 guests from royal families across the country to the ceremony.