Puri Gajapati Maharaja seeks removal of ‘Dham’ tag from Digha Jagannath temple

Following the completion of the Sri Jagannath Management Committee meeting in Puri on Monday, Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb has urged for the removal of ‘Dham’ tag from the newly built Jagannath temple in Digha, West Bengal.

Gajapati Maharaja emphasised that it is not appropriate to label the temple as 'Jagannath Dham'. He highlighted that while there are numerous Jagannath temples at various places across the globe, none carry such a designation. He also informed that Odisha Chief Minister has already written a letter to his West Bengal counterpart in this regard.

The Gajapati Maharaja further said that the West Bengal government should ensure the change in the temple's title as the responsibility for the temple’s title lies with them and they were instrumental in its construction. According to him, the state government orchestrated the formation of a trust for the temple’s management, with no private organisations involved in this process.

'Against tradition & Jagannath culture'

"Naming Digha Jagannath temple as 'Jagannath Dham' is against the tradition and Jagannath culture. The development has disturbed all of us. Shrikshetra in Puri is the only 'Jagannath Dham'. Names like Nilachal Dham, Shrikshetra, Srimandir, Purusottam Kshetra and Jagannath Dham are only applicable for Puri Jagannath temple only. We were all surprised when Digha temple was titled as 'Jagannath Dham'. Many Jagannath temples have been built across the globe. However, nobody has given such titles to those temples," said Gajapati Maharaja.

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"Everybody knows that Puri Shrikshetra is the only 'Jagannath Dham'. When we heard about the development regarding Digha temple, we took advice from 'Mukti Mandap'. Shankaracharya of Puri Govardhan Peetha- Swami Nischalananda Saraswati has also announced that Puri is the only 'Jagannath Dham' and no other place across the globe could be titled as 'Jagannath Dham'. Out state government should discuss about the matter with the West Bengal government with all the available facts and figures. I request our state government to take all the necessary steps so that 'Dham' tag will be removed from Digha temple soon. We are surprised how International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) didn't raise voice against it as they are aware about the truth and are in Digha temple trust board," he added.