Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik released Shree Jagannatha, Lord Of The Universe, a coffee-table book brought out by The Hindu Group Publishing at the valedictory session of three-day-long first ever ‘World Odia Language Conference’ here on Monday.
The book, which pictorially narrates traditions and rituals associated with sibling deities of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra in Puri, one of the four sacred dhams for Hindus, was unveiled in presence of Raghuvir Srinivasan, Editor businessline, who has also edited ‘Shree Jagannatha’ and Sridhar Aranala, Vice President, S&D Circulation of THG Publishing Private Ltd.
Contributions
‘Shree Jagannatha, Lord Of The Universe’, is compilation of short essays encompassing various aspects of rich traditions including Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath. Experts on Jagannath culture, journalists and former bureaucrats have contributed for the book through their authoritative writings.
“This picture-rich coffee-table book attempts to tell the story of Shree Jagannatha worship, the temple and its traditions. It can by no means claim to be a comprehensive account. It is but a humble effort to explain to people the uniqueness of Shree Jagannatha-literally the Lord of the Universe,” said Mr. Srinivasan.
Other books from The Hindu Group
Sibling deities are known as living divine-beings as Editor’s Note rightly points out “like humans, the idols undergo a process of biological change and are replaced by a new set of idols periodically. Again, in a departure from tradition, the moola vigraha, or the main deity, emerges out of the temple twice a year to give darshan to devotees.” Photographs have vividly captured events around 12th century Shree Jagannath Temple.
World Odia Language Conference
At the valedictory session, Odisha Chief Minister announced that World Odia Language Conference will be held at every five-year interval. He also declared extension of museum encompassing evolution of Odia language and culture for public access by another three days.
Patnaik called upon people to enrich Odia language, which is identity of Odia race, by adding more words.
Satyasundar Barik is The Hindu Correspondent in Bhubaneswar