There is only one Jagannath Dham in the world, which is in Puri: BJP MP Sambit Patra

Amidst the ongoing controversy surrounding the newly constructed Jagannath temple in Digha in West Bengal, BJP MP Sambit Patra on Saturday raised strong objections.

While speaking to media, the BJP MP from Puri Sambit Patra said, “I strongly object to one thing. There is only one Jagannath Dham in the world, and it is not possible to call any other place Jagannath Dham because there is no other place.”

Patra further said that there are four Dhams in India, and among them, one is a very important Dham- Jagannath Dham, Puri.
There should be no doubt that no other place can be called Jagannath Dham as Puri in Odisha is the only place where the Lord Jagannath resides.

“I think that as an MP from Puri and also as a politician from Odisha, I should wait to see what investigation the temple administration does and what is the report of that investigation,” said Patra.

Earlier, Odisha Law Minister Prithviraj Hairchandan stated that the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) has already been issued a formal directive to conduct a preliminary inquiry regarding the controversy the claim that divine wood, traditionally used during the sacred Nabakalebara ritual to carve new idols of the deities in the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri, was allegedly used to create idols at a newly built Jagannath temple in Digha, West Bengal. 

Addressing the media, Odisha Law Minister stated unequivocally that it is inappropriate and unacceptable to compare any other temple with the original Jagannath Dham in Puri. “While temples dedicated to Lord Jagannath may exist elsewhere, none of them can be conferred the status of Dham, which is uniquely reserved for Puri,” he emphasized.