ISKCON must stop untimely Rath Yatra anywhere in world: Puri King

Bhubaneswar: The titular King of Puri, Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, on Tuesday said the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) has to stop celebrating untimely Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath anywhere in the world. The ISKCON must conduct rituals following scriptures and tradition, Deb, who is also the chairperson of the Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee in Puri, said at a press conference.

The issue of untimely Rath Yatra came up recently, with the ISKCON’s Houston unit in the US deciding to observe the festival in November, deviating from the normal practice at the temple in Puri where it was held a few months back at a stipulated time period.

“Enough is enough. ISKCON has been organising untimely Rath Yatra since decades. We will wait till March for its governing body meeting to take a

final decision in this regard. If they deviate from the tradition, we will be compelled to take legal assistance,” Deb said.

The ISKCON’s move to hold Rath Yatra at Houston on November 9 has hurt crores of devotees of Lord Jagannath across the world, said the Gajapati Maharaja. The international organisation has repeatedly deviated from tradition while observing the Rath Yatra, the “first servitor” of Lord Jagannath alleged.

“Rath Yatras were also conducted (by ISKCON) at Ludhiana in October 2007 and in Delhi in December of the same year. Following consistent efforts and

dialogues, such untimely Rath Yatras were not conducted in India after July 2021. However, the practice has been continuing abroad,” Deb said.

The ISKCON celebrates Janmashtami, the birthday of Lord Krishna, on a particular day across the world following the scriptures, but it deviates from tradition in the case of Lord Jagannath, the titular King of Puri claimed.

The Gajapati Maharaja said ISKCON is welcome to spread the ‘Vaishnav dharma’ across the globe, but not by conducting untimely annual sojourn of the Lords.

Recently, Deb wrote to the president of ISKCON Temple in Houston and the chairman of the Governing Body Commission at ISKCON Mayapur to reconsider the timing of the upcoming Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath in the United States.

“They have dropped the plan to hold Snan Purnima (bathing ritual) at Houston on November 3, but are going to conduct the Rath Yatra on November 9,” he said.

Odisha Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan fully supported the statement of Gajapati Maharaja and said: “ISKCON should respect the sentiments of Lord Jagannath devotees and stop its untimely Ratha Yatra on November 9.”

The Puri Jagannath temple falls under the jurisdiction of the State government’s Law department.

According to the practice in Puri, the ‘Snan Yatra’ is conducted on the full moon in the month of ‘Jyeshtha’, usually in June.

Similarly, the Rath Yatra or chariot festival is observed on the second day of the bright fortnight of ‘Ashadha’ month, which falls in June or July.