Senior Puri Jagannath temple priest suspended for involvement in consecration of Digha temple

Shree Jagannath temple at Puri.
| Photo Credit: BISWARANJAN ROUT

Ramkrishna Das Mohapatra, a senior sevayat (traditional priest) of the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri, was on Sunday (May 11, 2025) suspended for 30 days following allegedly controversial remarks pertaining to his involvement in the consecration of the Jagannath temple in Digha, West Bengal.

The Odisha government had earlier ordered a probe into allegations that surplus timber procured for the Nabakalebara rituals at the Puri temple had been used to carve the idols of the sibling deities at the Digha temple. Although the Odisha government denied the use of any leftover daru (sacred wood) at the Digha temple, Mr. Mohapatra’s statement was seen as damaging to the sanctity and traditions of the Puri temple.

In an interview with a Bengali television channel, the senior sevayat had claimed that daru used in the Digha temple had come from the Nabakalebara rituals. He later retracted the statement, calling it a slip of the tongue.

Mr. Mohapatra has been barred from entering the Puri temple premises or participating in any rituals during the period of suspension. The Shree Jagannatha Temple Administration has warned that any attempt to influence other sevayats or disrupt temple rituals would result in a longer ban and stricter disciplinary action. Mr. Mohapatra’s conduct will be closely monitored throughout the suspension.

Another controversy erupted over the naming of the Digha temple as ‘Jagannath Dham’. The Odisha government strongly objected to the use of the term for the temple in West Bengal, arguing that it undermined the unique spiritual and cultural identity of Puri’s Jagannath Dham. Chief Minister Mohan Majhi formally urged his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee to drop the ‘Dham’ tag from the Digha temple.

“As you are well aware, Shree Jagannath Dham in Puri, Odisha, is one of the Char Dhams of Hinduism and holds unparalleled religious, spiritual, and cultural significance — not just for the people of Odisha, but for millions of devotees across India and the world,” Mr. Majhi stated in his communication.

Puri’s titular king, Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, also appealed to the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) to intervene and remove the ‘Dham’ from the name of the temple at Digha.