The scion of the erstwhile royal family of Puri, Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, considered the first servitor of Lord Jagannath, on Monday said the Digha Jagannath Temple cannot be called “Jagannath Dham.”
Speaking on the controversy for the first time, the Gajapati, who is also chairman of the Puri Shree Jagannath Temple Management Committee (SJTMC), said in a press statement: “We came to know from various media that the newly constructed Shri Jagannath Temple at Digha has been named as ‘Jagannath Dham’ or ‘Jagannath Dham Cultural Centre’. In this regard, we sought the opinion of the Mukti Mandap Pandit Sabha through a letter dated May 3, 2025, to which we received a reply on May 4, 2025.”
The Mukti Mandap of the Shree Jagannath Temple — a traditional body of scholars — is the highest advisory institution in temple matters and its opinion is regarded as sacrosanct. Gajapati also cited various scriptures to underline that Jagannath temples outside Puri should not be called a “dham”.
The release said: “The Mukti Mandap Pandit Sabha had mentioned that ‘The original Peetha (seat) of Shri Jagannath Mahaprabhu is Purushottama Kshetra. Even if the idols of the Chaturdhamurti (four idols — Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, Goddess Subhadra and Lord Sudarshan) are established in any other place apart from Puri, they cannot be called ‘Jagannath Dham’, ‘Shri Purushottam Kshetra’, ‘Shri Kshetra’ or ‘Neelachal Dham’. Therefore, the Jagannath Temple in Digha or the place cannot be called as Shri Jagannath Dham, Shri Kshetra, Purushottam Kshetra or Nilachal Dham.’”
Deb also appealed to the trustees of the Digha Jagannath Temple to refrain from calling it Jagannath Dham or Jagannath Dham Cultural Centre.
He further maintained that the prasad (bhog) offered to the deities in other Jagannath temples should not be referred to as “Maha Prasad”. As per the scriptures, only the bhog in the Puri Jagannath Temple can be called Maha Prasad.
He added that tradition does not sanction the making of Jagannath idols from
metal or stone, and worshipping such idols is not appropriate.
The release said: “Jagannath temples worldwide should respect the rich traditions, heritage and rituals of the Puri Shree Jagannath Temple. If due respect is not given to Lord Jagannath’s age-old traditions, culture and heritage, it will hurt the religious sentiments of crores of Jagannath devotees.”