Jagannath Temple Has Become a Trademark Battle

How many Jagannath temples are there around the world? It is difficult to estimate.  But Odisha is said to have over 1,700 temples, Bengal 263 temples, Chhattisgarh 190 and in the country, the number could be well over 3000 temples.

Besides, Jagannath Temples are there in most parts of the world, including in the USA, Canada, Britain, Australia, Germany, Bangladesh, Argentina and Korea.

While the Jagannath Temple at Puri in Odisha is associated with the term Jagannath Dham/ Neelachal Dham, can any other place having a Jagannath Temple be referred to as Dham? 

This question has invoked a controversy as the newly built Jagannath temple at Digha in West Bengal bordering Odisha on Bay of Bengal carries the tag Dham along with it.

People closely associating themselves with the Jagannath Culture in Odisha feel that the Bengal government in fulfilment of its political interest is appropriating the liturgy, history and tradition of Jagannath temple by giving a tag Dham to it. 

The Digha temple was inaugurated by Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on April 30, 2025 and is being managed by a trust constituted at the behest of the West Bengal Government and its services (seva puja) are being conducted by the ISKCON.

According to religious belief in India, there are four Dhams- i.e: Neelachal Dham, Badrinath, Dwarkanath and Rameswaram. While in English, Dham refers to abode or residence of God, or a sacred place, Shankaracharya of Puri, the Holy See of Indian faith, has also disliked the idea of tag of Dham to Digha temple, saying Dham is a cultural identity built over a period of time.

It is pertinent to mention here that the 8^th century Holy See Shankaracharya had founded his mutt at Puri as Govardhan peetham. It is believed that Puri has been recognised as a Dham from his time.

Peeved at the use of Dham tag along with the temple of Digha, Puri Gajapati King Divyasimha Dev, the titular head involving the rituals of Lord Jagannath at Puri, has requested the ISCON management to resolve this sentimental issue though the latter has expressed its inability to do so.

Odisha Chief Minister, Mohan Charan Majhi has written to Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urging her to drop

 “Dham” tag associated with the temple at Digha though she has not responded to it so far.

Meanwhile the Puri temple administration is contemplating to approach the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to have Trademark Rights on Shri Mandira (The temple belonging to Goddess Laxmi), Jagannath Dham/ Purushottam Kshetra (Abode of Lord Jagannath/the place of Jagannath- the model of human being), Neelachal Dham (the blue hill housing the lord), Badadanda (The boulevard road on which the chariots move during the car festival) , and Nilchakara (The blue wheel representing evolution) , Mahaparasad (the food that people can eat together from one plate irrespective of their castes/faiths.

The temple administration has also banned senior temple priest Ramkrushna Das Mohapatra from performing rituals in the Puri temple as he participated in the consecration of the temple at Digha. 

Undoubtedly Odisha receives the highest number of devotees from Bengal since the time of Saint Shri Chaitanya of Bhakti movement fame in the 16th century, and they see lord Jagannath as an incarnation of Vishnu. 

But the culture of lord Jagannath has a lot more to offer.  Jagannath Culture has a lot to offer even to the extent of uniting the whole world emotionally transcending the boundaries of faiths.

Though the temple for historical reasons, today is not open to people of all faiths, Lord Jagannath is referred to as "Patitapavana": the redeemer of the downtrodden. He leaves the temple precincts once a year to bring salvation to the downtrodden. Puranic texts say the sheer sight of Lord Jagannath resplendent on his chariot (during car festival time) liberates one from the karmic cycle of rebirth.

It is a common belief in Puri town that the divinities are an embodiment of all religions, faiths and beliefs.  If a Christian sees Lord Jagannath from the rear he may liken Him to a Cross representing Jesus Christ. Jagannath is also described as an incarnation of Krishna in the form of Buddha. Balabhadra and Subhadra also have mysterious forms; they too have no legs and hands on their torso. The philosophy behind these forms is that God is formless; this is probably the most accepted theory in the world.

In Puri, Hindus, Muslims and those of other faiths do eat together, unlike the practice elsewhere. The Mahaprasad (the cooked food offered to the deities) available for public consumption does not distinguish between rich and poor, caste or religion.

Lord Jagannath, likened as the incarnation of Lord Krishna, is accompanied by sister Subhadra and elder brother Balabhadra. The culture of this Festival is more ancient than the main Jagannath Temple in which the main divinity is "Lord Jagannath" (the lord of the universe). The deity is not confined by name to any place (He is not Purinath) in particular, for he is the master of the universe.

The Gajapati king during the car festival personally sweeps the chariots with a golden broom, lending the dignity of his office and persona to the daily chore of a sweeper. 

After all, all are equal before providence. The three chariots are veritable temples in motion. And they spread the message of love, peace and integration of faiths among the masses.

Wish the Bengal government travelling beyond the religious moorings help spread the Jagannath Consciousness of love, compassion, and humanism- i.e. the supreme idea of secularism among the people making it a better abode of Lord Jagannath on some future date.