Digha or Puri: Which is the ‘true dwelling’ of Lord Jagannath?
Bowing to public stress, the Odisha authorities on 2 Might requested the Puri Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) to provoke a probe into the involvement of servitors of the temple within the efficiency of rituals on the Digha Jagannath temple and different facets of the controversy arising out of it.
Legislation minister Prithviraj Harichandan stated, “Dialogue has been occurring about servitors from Puri becoming a member of the inaugural perform of the Digha Jagannath temple, the Digha Jagannath temple being named as Jagannath Dham and the idols at Digha Jagannath Temple being carved from the Darubrahma, a particular sort of neem used for the development of Jagannath idols through the nabakalevara in 2015. It has damage the feelings of Jagannath devotees and 4.5 crore Odias. The temple administration has been directed to conduct an inner inquiry into the problem. If anybody is discovered responsible, motion might be taken in opposition to them following the approval of the state authorities.”
Odisha deputy chief minister Ok.V. Singh Deo, too, admitted that the propaganda touting the Digha Jagannath temple as Jagannath dham has damage the feelings of individuals in Odisha. “So far as I do know, there are solely 4 dhams of Hindus, and considered one of these is Puri, which is called Jagannath Dham. The chief minister is conscious of the controversy and will need to have taken notice of it,” Singh Deo stated.
Eminent sand sculptor Sudarshan Pattnaik has sought chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s private intervention within the matter. In a letter to the chief minister, Pattnaik stated, “In keeping with sacred scriptures, there exists just one Jagannath Dham, which is positioned in Puri. Associating another temple with the title ‘Jagannath Dham’ could result in spiritual confusion and contradict long-standing Hindu religious and cultural traditions.”
Below great stress, Ramkrushna Das Mahapatra has now himself objected to using the phrase dham within the context of the Digha Jagannath temple. “It’s mistaken on their half to make use of dham for the temple there. Puri is the one Jagannath Dham. I’ll write to Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on this regard. There also needs to be communication between the 2 governments on this,” he advised reporters in Puri on his return from Digha.
