Digha’s Jagannath temple not ‘Jagannath Dham’: Puri’s titular king

PURI'S titular king Gajapati Maharaja Divyasingha Deb on Monday claimed that the Jagannath temple in West Bengal's Digha cannot be called ‘Jagannath Dham’.

- PBD BUREAU/PTI

Deb, the chairman of the Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee, said that only the 12th century shrine in Puri can be called ‘Jagannath Dham' as per scriptures.

Deb, considered the first servitor of Lord Jagannath, in a statement, said, "Upon learning from media about the newly consecrated Shree Jagannath temple at Digha being named as ‘Jagannath Dham' or ‘Jagannath Dham Cultural Centre’, I sought the opinion of Muktimundupa Pundita Sabha on this matter.”

"The Muktimundupa Pundita Sabha have said that the 'moola peetha’ or original place of Shree Jagannath is ‘Purushottama-kshetra’ (Puri) and names, such as 'Jagannatha Dham’, 'Purushottama-kshetra’, 'Shreekshetra' and 'Neelachala Dham' refer only to Puri and cannot be used to refer to any other place where ‘Chaturdha Daru Vigraha’ (four-handed wooden idols) have been consecrated,” Deb said.