Puri (SunsrarTV Bureau): An era of Devadasi pratha in Shree Jagannath temple now ended. Parasmani Devi, the last surviving Devadasi of Shree Jagannatha Temple in Puri, breathed her last due to age related ailments on Saturday afternoon. She was 87.
Earlier, she was singing and dancing at temple to please his divine husband Lord Shree Jagannath.
According to tradition, the presence of a ‘devadasi’ at the temple is mandatory for special occasions, and she is supposed to sing and dance before the Lord into the night. It is believed that with this melodious harmony of song and dance, the Lord goes to sleep. Only on attaining puberty can a girl become a ‘devadasi’, and she generally remains unmarried throughout her life.
While one group of ‘devadasis’ are known as Bhitar Gayani – singers of the sanctum sanctorum Parasmani Devi – another group, known as the Bahar Gayani – Sashimani was one – performed rituals outside the inner temple.
Devadasis’ also have a special role during the Jagannath temple’s famous ‘rath yatra’ (car festival), the Navakalebara (when the wooden bodies of the deities are changed every 14 years) and the Nanda Utsav, a function that takes place the day after Janmashtami marking Lord Krishna arrival in the home of his foster parents.
