Pilgrim Guides and their roles in the Sacred Complex of Lingaraj Temple

Lingaraj Temple is widely known as a great religious and sacred centre (Kshetra). A place of pilgrimage (tirtha) where Hindu pilgrims from different parts of the country visit and throng wearily, and often barefooted under fatigue and hardship to get the sight of the Lord, which they believe, obliterates the transgressions of one’s whole life. The article deals with the roles of pilgrim guides in Lingaraj Temple. For the comfort of the pilgrims in the temple, there are pilgrim guides functioning among the temple servants (sevayats). These temple functionaries serving the pilgrims are known as Pilgrim Guides or otherwise locally known as ‘Yatri Panda’ or ‘Elaka Panda’. There are three categories of sacred servants (sevayats), Pujapanda, Brahmana (Mahasuar) and Badu who are the Brahmin sevayats and perform rituals in the temple. They act as pilgrim guides of the temple during non-service days. This study is purely an ethnographic study based on fieldwork.