Controversy over West Bengal’s Digha Jagannath Temple escalates: Complaint filed over unauthorised use of sacred wood from Puri, demands to remove ‘Dham’ tag grows – Read details
The Puri Jagannath Temple replica, which was inaugurated by the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Akshaya Tritiya on 30th April in Digha, has been embroiled in controversies. It is being alleged that the sacred Neem wood left after the 2015 Nabakalebar ceremony at the Puri Jagannath Temple was used in an unauthorised manner to make the idols at the Digha temple. The Nabakalebar ritual involves replacing the old idols of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra, and Sudarshan placed inside the Puri Jagannath Temple with new ones made of sacred Neem wood. The ritual takes place after 12-19 years.
FIR filed against the senior servitor
A complaint has been filed by a socio-religious organisation named Jagannath Sena at the Singhadwara Police Station against Ramakrishna Das Mahapatra, the secretary of the Daitapati servitor community, who participated in the inauguration ceremony of the Digha Temple.
In the complaint, the Jagannatha Sena demanded an investigation into the unauthorised transportation of sacred Neem wood (Darus) from the Puri temple’s premises to the Digha temple for crafting idols. Earlier, an online complaint was filed by an RTI activist named Jayanta Das, in which he accused Ramakrishna Das Mahapatra of removing the wood without taking permission from the temple administration.
“How was the sacred wood transported? Whether it was stolen or taken by giving money? Attempts are being made to cover up the issue owing to the upcoming Rath Yatra. Due to some vested interest persons, the entire servitors’ community, Puri and Odisha have been defamed. The illegal activities which have taken place, stern action should be taken,” said Priyadarshan Patnaik, convener of Jagannath Sena. The Jagannath Sena called for a detailed audit of the Darughara (the wood storage area) and an official verification of the quantity of daru currently stored. The organisation said that the unauthorised handling of the shared Neem wood is a religious offence, which should be dealt with as per law.
Odisha Law Minister directs Puri Jagannath administration to investigate the matter
As the controversy around the Digha temple mounted, the Odisha government also raised objections over the naming of the Digha Temple as ‘Jagannath Dham’ and the participation of servitors from the Puri Jagannath Temple in the new temple’s inauguration ceremony.
On Friday (2nd May), Odisha Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan wrote to the Puri Jagannath Temple’s Chief Administrator, Arabinda Kumar Padhee, calling for an internal inquiry into the naming of the Digha Temple after the 12th-century Jagannath Puri Temple in Odisha. The Minister said that the participation of Jagannath Puri Temple servitors in the inauguration ceremony of the Digha temple and the use of the sacred neem wood for sculpting the idols in the new temple were “totally unacceptable”.
Ramakrishna Das Mahapatra (Centre) with CM Mamata Banerjee at the inauguration ceremony in Digha temple (via X)
On the direction of the Law Minister, Chief Administrator, Arabinda Kumar Padhee, reportedly convened a meeting with the stakeholders. Padhee also met with three of the four Badagrahis (Daita servitors in charge of the deities during the Jagannath Ratha Yatra). Currently, the four Badagrahis are Jagannath Swain Mohapatra (Lord Jagannath), Haladhar Das Mahapatra (Lord Balabhadra), Ramakrishna Das Mahapatra (Devi Subhadra) and Patimohapatra (Lord Sudarshan), out of whom Ramakrishna Das Mahapatra is under the scanner. The statements of the three Badagrahis were recorded, and all of them called for an investigation into the matter.
The Chief Administrator has issued notices to all the presidents and secretaries of the Nijorgs (servitor associations) to submit in writing any information they might have regarding the matter by Sunday evening (4th May).
How the controversy started
The entire row started after an interview of Ramakrishna Das Mahapatra given to a Bengali TV channel went viral. In the interview, Mahapatra reportedly claimed that he brought the Bigrahas (idols) made of the Daru (sacred Neem wood leftover from the 2015 Nabakalebar ceremony) and installed them at the Digha temple. However, later on in a press conference on Friday, he accused the media of spreading misinformation and clarified that he used normal Neem wood to carve the idols for the Digha temple.
Previously, the other servitors at the Puri Jagannath Temple were suspicious of stone idols being placed and worshipped inside the Digha temple. This would have violated the tradition, which requires the idols to be made of Neem wood. Addressing their concerns, Ramakrishna Das Mahapatra had said that stone idols were placed inside the Digha temple for the last three months, but they were not worshipped. He added that he took idols made of Neem wood with him to the inaugural ceremony and installed them. “The idols were made from neem wood under my supervision at Puri. I then took the idols to Digha for the inaugural ceremony,” said Ramakrishna Das Mahapatra.
The Digha Jagannath Temple has been in the eye of the storm for various reasons, including the use of state funds for the construction of the temple, which violates the Constitution. Besides, the temple does not seem to comply with the Hindu traditions as the original Puri Jagannath Temple does not allow the entry of non-Hindus, while the Digha Jagannath Temple follows no such prohibition. The status of the Digha Temple is also being questioned by the opposition as the tender documents of the West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (WBHIDCO), which is responsible for the management of the temple, refer to it as “Jagannath Dham Sanskriti Kendra” (cultural centre).
Devotees demand removal of ‘Jagannath Dham’ tag from Digha temple
Religious scholars, priests and servitors in Odisha have objected to the use of the term ‘Jagannath Dham’ tag for the Digha temple, arguing that the title “Dham” implies a status and sanctity that can neither be replicated nor claimed without distorting centuries of tradition. Ramakrushna Dasmohapatra, who was the chief priest during the inauguration of the Digha Jagannath Temple, also joined the protests, demanding the removal the tag ‘Jagannath Dham’.
“I, too, request West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, to remove the word ‘Dham’ from the Digha Jagannath Temple,” Ramakrushna Dasmohapatra said. He added, “as per my understanding, Puri is the only place referred to as ‘Jagannath Dham’,” and urged the Odisha government and the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) to initiate talk over the matter. “There can be several Jagannath temples in the country, but Puri is the only Jagannath ‘Dham’,” he asserted.
Notably, ‘Dham’ is not the same as a Mandir; it refers to specific sacred sites associated with Hinduism. Adi Shankaracharya had designated Puri as one of the four “Dhams” of India, with the others being Badrinath, Dwarka, and Rameswaram.
Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik also objected to the use of the name ‘Dham’ for the Digha temple, and wrote a letter to Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi. He wrote in the letter, “This statement has deeply hurt the religious sentiments of millions of Jagannath devotees worldwide. According to our sacred scriptures, there exists only one Jagannath Dham, which is located in Puri. Associating any other temple with the title may lead to confusion and contradict long-standing spiritual and Hindu cultural traditions.”
West Bengal BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari said that labelling the new structure in Digha as a “Dham” undermines the sanctity of the original Jagannath Dham in Puri, one of the Char Dhams in Hindu tradition, and violates centuries-old customs tied to Lord Jagannath’s worship. He said that “the West Bengal Government have stooped to a new low with their deceitful tactics, officially labeling the Digha Project as the “Jagannath Dham Cultural Centre” in documents, but promoting it as a “Jagannath Temple” to mislead devotees and exploit their faith.”
In a post on X, he welcomed the steps taken by the Odisha govt to probe the matters of unauthorised use of sacred wood and the role of Servitors of Shree Jagannath Temple of Puri.
“The questionable involvement of Servitors, and the unauthorized use of surplus Sacred Wood (sacred Neem wood from the Nabakalebara rituals) are directly affront to ethics and morality surrounding the Jagannath Culture and centuries long traditions,” he said.
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