Bhubaneswar: In an effort to stop untimely Rath Yatras by ISKCON abroad, Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), Puri, has decided to send a high-level delegation to meet the President and the Prime Minister to seek their intervention in the matter.
The SJTA alleged that ISKCON’s National Communications Office made “false statements” in its July 12 press release regarding the conduct of Rath Yatras outside India.
In a press release, the SJTA rejected ISKCON’s claim that its Rath Yatra festivals held on different dates throughout the year are fully supported by scriptures and tradition.
It stressed that the issue had been discussed extensively during a scholars’ meeting held in Bhubaneswar on March 20, 2025, attended by representatives of ISKCON and SJTA in the presence of Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb and the Chief Administrator of SJTA. ISKCON scholars had attempted to justify holding Rath Yatras outside India on different dates, but their arguments were rejected by SJTA scholars as being contrary to sacred scriptures and long-established temple traditions, it said.
Maintaining that Lord Jagannath Himself has prescribed the dates for His major festivals, SJTA said the nine-day Rath Yatra begins only on Ashadha Shukla Dwitiya. While practical adjustments may be made to the manner of conducting festivals abroad, there can be no change in the prescribed tithi or date, it said.
The Temple administration asserted that taking the deities out in ceremonial processions on dates other than those prescribed amounts to a violation of scriptural injunctions and established Sanatana Vaidika traditions.
The SJTA also said it had examined written representations submitted by ISKCON scholars and, after completing its review, communicated its final opinion to ISKCON’s Governing Body Commission (GBC) headquarters at Mayapur in September 2025. However, ISKCON refused to alter its decision to continue organising Rath Yatras outside India on dates other than the traditional festival period despite repeated appeals from the Gajapati Maharaja.
Referring to ISKCON’s recent press statement, the SJTA objected to the claim that the Gajapati Maharaja’s presence at ISKCON’s Berlin Rath Yatra implied his approval of such celebrations. The administration clarified that the Maharaja had attended an interfaith conference in Berlin in 1991-92 and had, in fact, advised ISKCON organisers against conducting Rath Yatras on dates not prescribed by scriptures. It said the temple managing committee subsequently passed a resolution in 2008 opposing untimely Rath Yatras through formal representations.
The SJTA pointed out that although ISKCON’s governing council in India had earlier resolved to observe Rath Yatra only during the prescribed festival period, untimely celebrations have continued in several countries. It also alleged that some ISKCON temples outside India continue to conduct Snana Yatra on dates other than the prescribed Jyestha Purnima.
Stating that the Odisha government has been kept informed of the developments, it said the Gajapati Maharaja has already written separately to both the President and the Prime Minister highlighting the issue.
The SJTA also cited the views of Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati, who has consistently maintained that Rath Yatra should be celebrated only during the prescribed nine-day period beginning on Ashadha Shukla Dwitiya.
As ISKCON continues to organise off-schedule Snana Yatras and Rath Yatras across the world, the Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee has decided to send a high-level delegation to meet the President, the Prime Minister and other senior authorities after this year’s Rath Yatra festivities conclude in Puri to seek their intervention in the matter, it added.
