Puri: The rituals of deities in Lord Jagannath temple were delayed following a servitor bled with head injury at sanctum sanctorum and the blood spilled on the floor.

The temple administration performed Mahasnan (a ritual to cleanse the temple with holy water) after the incident.

The devotees had to wait for long hours to have darshan of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra due to delay in rituals.

According to reports, a servitor fell on the floor and he sustained injuries on head after his feet slipped accidentally at Kalahata gate of the shrine. His feet slipped when an earthen pot fell off the hands of the temple priest Dinabandhu Pujapanda (62) after worshipping the deities.

The incident occurred at around 11 am. Thousands of devotees, who had flocked the pilgrim town to have darshan of deities in the temple during holy month of Kartik, waited for two hours.

The darshan resumed after the purification rituals of the temple.