A video showing an eagle soaring above the popular Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri while clutching a flag-like cloth has gone viral and stirred a wave of speculation and spiritual debate on social media.
The video captures the majestic bird circling the temple skies with a piece of cloth resembling the Patitapaban Bana, the sacred flag hoisted atop the temple’s Neela Chakra. After a few rounds above the temple, the eagle reportedly flew out toward the sea and disappeared. The incident was reported around 5 PM on Saturday when the region witnessed a sudden Nor’wester storm.
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According to local witnesses, the eagle was first seen near Sri Mandir's western gate. Moments later, it was spotted flying with the flag-like cloth toward the nearby sea.
While the cloth closely resembled the holy flag, it has not been confirmed whether it was indeed the original Patitapaban Bana or simply a similar-looking piece. Notably, the temple flag was intact when the eagle flew above. As of Tuesday, the Shree Jagannath Temple administration has not issued any official statement on this.
Netizens react
Notably, there has been a mysterious belief that no birds fly around this temple. The long-standing belief also states that the king of birds 'Garuda' is protecting the temple. The recent incident of an eagle flying above it left people stunned.
It sparked mixed reactions among people — while some saw it as a divine sign, others fearfully wondered if it might be a bad omen.
