Puri: Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deba has written to President Daroupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking their intervention to stop ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) from organising Rath Yatra and Snana Yatra outside the prescribed ritual calendar at overseas locations.
Gajapati Maharaja also sought time to meet the President and the Prime Minister to discuss the issue, alleging that the repeated observance of the rituals on dates not in accordance with Jagannath temple traditions hurts the sentiments of millions of devotees.
He said the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) had repeatedly urged ISKCON to refrain from organising such events abroad, but the practice had continued despite those requests.
ఇవి కూడా చదవండి
According to Gajapati Maharaja, ISKCON had earlier resolved Snana Yatra worldwide on the same tithi (lunar date), but had allegedly not adhered to that decision. He claimed that off-calendar observances continue to be organised overseas.
He said a letter had earlier been sent to ISKCON’s Mayapur headquarters in West Bengal on the issue and added that a delegation would meet the President and the Prime Minister after Niladri Bije to press for intervention.
He also said the temple administration has been making efforts for nearly two decades to prevent the conduct of untimely Rath Yatra and Snana Yatra. While such practices have largely been curtailed in India, they continue to be organised in several foreign countries, he alleged. He urged devotees living abroad to support efforts aimed at preserving the traditional Jagannath rituals.
