Foreigner's entry delays Lord's lunch in Jagannath Temple

Puri, Mar 1 (UNI) The lunch of Lord Jagannath, the guardian deity of Orissa, was delayed by about three hours today following "unauthorised" entry of a non Hindu foreign national into the temple.

After identified by the servitors, the foreigner was taken into protective custody by the police and was fined for his "misadventure".

Temple sources said at about 14 hours one Paul Roediger (59), a resident of New York along with two Indian friends had entered into the temple through the Lions gate (main temple entrance). They also purchased tickets for "Darshan" from the temple's authorised counter and went inside the sanctum to see the Lord Jagannath.

But the servitors on duty inside the temple suspected his faith and questioned Mr Paul about his religious lineage. Paul admitted that he was a Christian but pleaded ignorance about the rules of the temple.

Mr Paul had paid Rs.209, the exact cost of ''Mahasnan'' (the bathing ceremony) of the deities to the temple, according to temple public relations officer L.D.Pujapanda.

Mr Paul, an engineer by profession, was associated with a power generation company operating from Talcher in Orissa.

As per the temple's rules all ongoing religious services were suspended following his entry into the temple and the ceremonial Bathing (Mahasnan) was observed before resumption of the normal ''nitees'' and rituals. The process delayed the ''Dwiprahar Dhupa'' (lunch) of the deities by three hours.

UNI