Odisha’s most popular actor Sabyasachi Mishra has revived the tradition of regular puja in one of the oldest Jagannath temples in Uttarakhand where puja and offering of prasad were not being done regularly.

The deities of the temple sometimes had to go without food for days together because of the resource constraint that the shrine was facing.

The actor has promised to take responsibility for the puja and the temple expenses for six months.

This temple is located in Sald village in the Barahat Himalayan Forest range at 3,799 feet high from the sea level near the district headquarters of Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand and is believed to be one of the oldest temples associated with the Jagannath culture. Unlike Puri where theidols are made of wood, here the idols are made of stone.

Sabyasachi, who visited the temple on June 28 during the Bahuda Yatra (return journey of the Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath), told The Telegraph: “After I came to know about the temple from Janardan Pattajoshi Mohapatra, a member of the Chhattisha Niyog (a confederation comprising 36 kinds of servitors) of the Puri Jagannath temple, I visited the temple with my wife Archita (a leading Odia actress). The villagers greeted us with Jay Jagannath. Jagannath culture runs in their blood. As they lack resources, they are unable to continue with the puja and other rituals regularly. I was pained to see that the Lord had to go without food for days together.”

“During our interaction with the villagers, we came to know that Lord Jagannath is the presiding deity of their families. Even the folk songs and traditional songs of the area speak about the presence of Lord Jagannath,” he said.

Sabyasachi said: “I have decided that with the support of millions of fans and local people, I will ensure that the rituals of the deities take place regularly. Whatever the expenses, I will bear it. Accompanied by the villagers, I went to the temple and performed puja and offered prasad.”

Sources said Sabyasachi has promised to take up the responsibility of ensuring puja and performance of rituals for six months initially.

The actor maintained that research needs to be done on how the Jagannath temple was established there. “There are different folk tales associated with the setting up of the temple. While some people said it was set up by Shankaracharya, others said it was their ancestors who had visited Puri and they might have set up the temple,” he said.

According to the actor, even the Uttarakhand tourism department had no information about the temple.

“When I reached there, they came and assured me that the government would provide all sorts of help. They have also assured to promote the place by carrying out various developmental work,” he said.

On the other hand, a senior servitor of Puri temple, Ramakrishna Dasmohapatra, said: “As Jagannath culture is spread across the globe, many Jagannath temples have come up in different areas over centuries. But due to lack of patronage, puja and other rituals were stopped in many temples.

“ It’s good that Sabyasachi is taking proactive steps. But Lord Jagannath’s idol should be made of wood and not stone.”