Untimely Rath Yatra row: Meeting held under chairmanship by Puri King, decision on uniform date pending  

Lord Jagannath’s Rath Yatra should be held on a specific ‘tithi’ across the globe. A crucial meeting will soon be convened to take a decision in this regard.  

As per sources, a meeting under the chairmanship of Puri Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb was held in his palace on Monday. Among others, Srimandir’s chief administrator Arabinda Padhee, Chairman of ISKCON International Forum Governing Body General Guru Prasad Swami Maharaj, Odisha ISKCON’s Director Premananda Das Maharaj and Regional Director Bhubaneswar Banamali Chandra Das attended the meeting.

In the meeting, it was decided that an important meeting would be held soon to take a decision that the Rath Yatra should be held on a particular ‘tithi’. Prominent researchers of Jagannath culture, scholars and ISKCON officials will attend the said meeting.

Also Read: ISKCON goes ahead with untimely Rath Yatra in Houston, US amid backlash

"ISKCON is going to have a governing body commission meeting in February 2025. In this meeting, their issues relating to global affairs are discussed. In that meeting, they will raise the Rath Yatra issue and place our request. We have told them in detail that nothing should be done to tarnish the tradition of Srimandir. We have also elucidated that our ‘puranas’ have mentions of ‘tithi’ for the Rath Yatra. So, ‘Gundicha Yatra’ or ‘Ghosha Yatra’ shouldn’t be held on any other day. On behalf of the temple administration, we requested them to refrain from holding untimely Rath Yatra," said Srimandir’s chief administrator Arabinda Padhee. 

Notably, ISKCON recently observed the Rath Yatra in Houston, US. The holy chariot, resembling the Nandighosha of Lord Jagannath in Puri, was pulled by devotees in huge numbers in the US city. This came a few days after ISKCON had promised to host a Sankirtan Yatra instead of the untimely Rath Yatra.