Bhubaneswar

The Gajapati Maharaja and chairman of Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee (SJTMC) Dibyasingha Deb has written to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking their intervention to stop ISKCON from holding untimely 'Snan Yatra' and Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath across the globe by deviating from the age-old tradition and hurting religious sentiments of millions of devotees.

Deb, the titular king of Puri, said, "Despite several requests, ISKCON have been deviating from the norms in sacred scriptures and century-old tradition while conducting festivals of Lord Jagannath."

The Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee (SJTMC) is the highest policy-making body of the 12th-century shrine in Odisha's Puri.

In a letter to the President and Prime Minister on July 4, Deb said, "I wish to submit here that over the last almost two decades, consistent efforts on the part of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (Puri) to resolve this vital issue, as well as public statements in that regard issued by the Odisha government from time to time, have failed to stop the untimely Shree Jagannath Yatras performed by ISKCON in countries outside India."

Deb, who is also considered as the first servitor of Lord Jagannath further said that under the aforesaid circumstances and in order to preserve the sanctity of the glorious tradition of Lord Jagannath around the world and in deference to the religious sentiments of countless devotees in India and abroad, he once again appealed to the Prime Minister to initiate appropriate steps so as to stop the performance of untimely snana-yatra and rath yatra being organised by ISKCON in violation of sacred scriptures and tradition.

Earlier, Deb had written a letter to Prime Minister Modi on October 24, 2025 and President Murmu on April 20, 2026.

"Therefore, the SJTMC has decided to send a delegation to Delhi which will meet both the President and the Prime Minister and apprise them of the significance of preserving the sanctity of Shree Jagannath culture," said Prof Harekrushna Satpathy, a research scholar on Shree Jagannath culture.

Acknowledging that only the Odisha government and the Jagannath Temple administration cannot stop the ISKCON from holding untimely Rath Yatra outside India, Deb said, "We have taken up the matter with Odisha Chief Minister, Law minister, MPs and MLAs to jointly take up the matter and preserve the age-old tradition of Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri."

Emphasising that the sanctity and purity of Lord Jagannath must be preserved at any cost, the Gajapati Maharaja said, "The ISKCON has its international headquarters at Mayapuri in West Bengal. Whatever decision is being taken at its headquarters is followed across the globe. Now, under the changed circumstances, the government has changed in West Bengal, and the ISKCON gets a new chief. Therefore, we should convince them to go by Sanatan Dharma norms and stop holding untimely rituals of Lord Jagannath."

In the letter, Deb mentioned that according to scriptures, the Snan Yatra of Lord Jagannath must be observed on 'Jyestha Poornima' and Rath Yatra within a nine-day window period from Ashadha Shukla Paksha Dwitiya. "Though ISKCON observes the days in India, most of its Rath Yatra across the country are held untimely," he noted.

Asked what is wrong in holding Lord Jagannath's Snan Yatra on any other day, Deb said, "Snan Yatra is the birthday of the Lord. How can one change the birthday? Can you observe Christmas on any other day or Prophet Mohammad's birth anniversary?"

READ MORE: MEA comes to rescue of Nazneen stuck at Doha airport

In regard to Rath Yatra, he explained that ISKCON is not told to hold Rath Yatra on a particular day. "There is a nine-day period from Ashadha Shukla Paksha Dwitiya to hold Rath Yatra. But they are conducting it on whimsical days. This must be stopped, and Lord's rituals must be held according to scriptures and century-old tradition in Shree Jagannath culture," he said.