Divine duty resumes: Bhog offerings restart at Lakshmi Narayan Temple

The centuries-old ritual of daily bhog (offerings) at the historic Lakshmi Narayan Temple in Chamba resumed on Saturday evening after remaining suspended for nearly two days. The interruption — a rare occurrence — had stirred deep concern among devotees.

The disruption was caused by a young man responsible for preparing the bhog, who stayed away from his duties due to non-payment of his salary for five months. His family has carried out this sacred responsibility for generations, handling every aspect of the ritual — from cleaning utensils and procuring provisions to performing the preparatory rites.

His absence brought the daily offerings to a standstill for the first time in almost three years. Alarmed by the development, residents and devotees approached Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Pryanshu Khati, urging swift action.

Following the SDM’s intervention, the matter was resolved on Saturday afternoon and offerings resumed during the evening ritual, restoring normalcy to the temple.

The young man had taken over the duty after his grandfather’s death five months ago and continued performing it diligently despite delayed payments. However, with his father being differently-abled and unable to assist, the financial strain forced him to halt work temporarily.

Temple priests and staff confirmed that all necessary paperwork for his payment had long been submitted to the local tehsil office, but disbursement was delayed. Officials have now assured that the pending dues will be cleared soon.

According to temple authorities, this was only the second disruption of bhog at the Lakshmi Narayan Temple in more than a thousand years — the previous instance occurring in 2022 due to budget-related delays.