Suara Mahasuara Nijog of the Jagannath temple in Puri, which prepares the mahaprasad at the 12th-century shrine, has told its members not to cook bhog at the newly built Jagannath temple in Bengal’s Digha.

The Digha shrine is scheduled to be inaugurated on April 30, coinciding with the auspicious Akshaya Tritiya.

The Jagannath temple in Puri has nearly 36 Nijog or sects, each responsible for various services and rituals related to the deities and worship. Suara Mahasuara Nijog is one such sect.

The Digha Jagannath Temple Trust administration has reportedly sought the help of Puri temple servitors to prepare the prasad and perform other rituals during the inauguration.

Around 60 servitors, led by senior servitor Ramakrushna Das Mohapatra, have reached Digha.

However, the Suara Mahasuara Nijog has threatened its members with strict disciplinary action and a permanent ban if they cook bhog at the Digha temple.

“Any breach of the directives will result in severe consequences, including being expelled from their duties in the 12th-century shrine and permanently barred from serving in the Niyog,” the notice said.

President of the Niyog Padmnabha Mahasuara told The Telegraph: “Puri Jagannath Temple has a unique cooking tradition. Our servitors, around 1,200 members of our Nijog, are solely engaged in cooking at the Puri temple. They cannot work as commercial cooks elsewhere. We must preserve our age-old traditions. Any deviation would dilute the entire system. Our members are banned from cooking bhog at any temple in Odisha. That same principle applies to the new Jagannath temple in Digha. While we welcome its establishment and support the spread of Jagannath culture, we don’t permit our members to be involved in cooking bhog in Digha.”

“We cook nearly 100 quintals of rice every day, serving about one lakh devotees. While 70 per cent of the food is prepared on a pre-order basis, the remaining is sold daily at Ananda Bazar inside the temple. There are nearly 200 chulas (traditional ovens). Our method is distinct and deeply rooted in tradition, which must be preserved. We have no objection if anyone attends the inaugural function in Digha,” he added.

Secretary of the Suara Mahasuara Nijog, Narayan Mahasuara, said no member of their Nijog was going to Digha to cook the prasad there. “We will boycott those who fail to adhere to the direction,” he said.

Senior servitor Ramakrushna Das Mohapatra, currently in Digha for the inauguration of the Jagannath temple, said: “We all believe in propagating the Jagannath culture. More Jagannath temples should be built around the world. Our current role is to assist with the Prana Prastistha (consecration of the deities), which cannot be done without the daitapatis (members of the sect that consecrates the deities). So we are helping the Digha temple authorities. Whether members of the Suara Mahasuara Nijog will participate in preparing the bhog is entirely their decision. The local priests can prepare the bhog on the inaugural day and later on.”

Das Mohapatra said the tradition and culture of the Jagannath temple in Puri were unique and distinct. “We should not compete, but rather collaborate, to spread the ideals of the Puri Shree Jagananth Culture,” he added.