Errors in the depiction of deities in the New Year calendar released by the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration sparked a controversy in Puri, drawing sharp criticism from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD).
Pilgrim town Puri is gearing up to bid adieu to an eventful 2025. However, ahead of the New Year, the controversy erupted after it was found that the image of Lord Balabhadra was placed in the position of Lord Jagannath in the calendar, while the image of Lord Jagannath appeared in Balabhadra’s position.
As the issue escalated into a major controversy, the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration stopped selling the newly released calendar.
Expressing concern over the error, temple chief administrator Arabinda Kumar Padhee said: “The image used in the calendar is a hundred-year-old palm-leaf painting preserved in the state museum. The image has been collected from the state museum and placed in the calendar. The image was that of an artist of that era. Jagannath Premis should not misunderstand it. We apologised for this inadvertent error and decided to stop selling this calendar.”
Earlier in the day, the BJD raised objections to what it described as serious errors in the English New Year calendar published by the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration. The party alleged that such mistakes were causing widespread discontent among devotees of Lord Jagannath across the world.
At a media conference held at Sankha Bhawan on Wednesday, BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said the calendar contained incorrect depictions of the holy Trinity. He said Lord Balabhadra was shown in the position of Lord Jagannath, while Lord Jagannath appeared in Balabhadra’s place. As a result, Goddess Subhadra was depicted with Jagannath on her right and Balabhadra on her left, which is contrary to established religious tradition.
Mohanty added that the same erroneous images were printed across table calendars, wall calendars and diaries released by the
temple administration.
Mohanty questioned the casual response of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration to the issue. “Shree Jagannath Temple Administration has not consulted intellectuals before using the Patta Chitra (traditional painting) in the calendar. Such mistakes reflect a lack of sensitivity towards Jagannath culture and Odia Asmita,” he said.
He further said: “In the calendar image, the chariots are shown in the wrong order — first Goddess Subhadra, followed by Lord Jagannath and then Lord Balabhadra. As per established ritual norms, the correct order during Rath Yatra is Lord Balabhadra first, Goddess Subhadra in the middle and Lord
Jagannath last.”
The Puri administration has also made special arrangements for devotees visiting the 12th century Shree Jagannath temple. The temple will be opened to devotees at midnight on January 1. Around 60 platoons of police have been deployed in Puri, with a heavy police presence inside the temple to ensure
hassle-free darshan.