Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Friday ordered a probe into the controversy surrounding the recently-inaugurated Jagannath temple at Digha in West Bengal. Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan has directed the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) in Puri to conduct an internal inquiry into the entire episode.
The move comes in the wake of widespread outrage over reports about the idols of the trinity being made using surplus neem wood from the Nabakalebar ritual of Puri shrine and naming Digha temple as ‘Jagannath Dham’. Certain developments pertaining to the Jagannath Temple at Digha in West Bengal have triggered widespread debate and criticism in the state.
In a letter to Chief Administrator of SJTA Arabinda Kumar Padhee, the Law Minister asked him to investigate the matter and bring the truth to light. The controversy has hurt the sentiments of the devotees of Lord Jagannath and the people of Odisha, Harichandan said.
“The SJTA has been directed to conduct a probe and reveal the truths to the people of Odisha as well as the devotees of Lord Jagannath. Appropriate action should be taken against anyone found guilty in this connection,” he said in the letter.
The prone aims to identify those responsible for the incident and take necessary action, including punishment, with the permission of the state government.
“If anyone is found guilty in this incident or has knowingly caused such an incident, provisions can be made for punishment with the permission of the state government,” the letter read.
The internal investigation will seek to clarify the circumstances surrounding the temple’s construction and naming, and determine whether any wrongdoing has occurred.
The government’s decision comes amid growing concerns over the temple’s construction and the involvement of servitors from Puri in the consecration ceremony.
There were media reports that surplus neem wood from 2015 Nabakalebar rituals at Puri Jagannath temple had been taken to Digha for construction idols for newly-inaugurated ‘Jagannath Dham Culture Centre’ at the West Bengal town.
Ramakrushna Dasmohapatra, a servitor who belongs to Daitapati Nijog of Shree Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s Puri, is in the eye of the storm brewing over alleged “Brahma Partistha” and use of “Jagannath Dham” for the recently-inaugurated shrine at Digha.
The Daitapati attempted to clarify his position by addressing a presser on Friday. “They had installed idols sculpted from stone at the Digha temple about 4 months ago. They consulted me on the auspicious dates for the inauguration of the temple. I had told them that rituals cannot be conducted with stone idols and accordingly, I took these idol made from neem wood standing about 3 feet tall from here for the consecration ceremony,” he said.
He, however, refuted reports that the idols were carved from ‘Darubramha’, a special type of neem wood used during the Nabakalebara in 2015 at the Puri temple. He also asserted that ‘Brahma’ exists only in Puri.
Notably, servitors of ‘Daitapati Nijog’ change ‘Brahma’ materials from old wooden idol to new one during the Nabakalebar, which means the rebirth of the deities as per the rituals of the 12th-century temple.
