‘Don’t think copyrights can be given on how to worship Lord Jagannath’
Kolkata: A controversy arose after Gajapati Maharaja Divyasingha Deb, the titular king of Puri who also happens to be the Chairman of the Puri’s Jagannath Temple Managing Committee recently said that he would suggest the Odisha government to consider securing copyrights for the rituals of Lord Jagannath temple in Puri to protect its traditional cultural expressions.
Deb said that naming Digha temple as Jagannath Dham and celebrations of Rath Yatra and Snan Yatra (bathing ritual) by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) at random times of the year in foreign countries were the matters of great concern for every devotee of Lord Jagannath around the world. He also claimed these to be gross violations of sacred scriptures and ancient traditions.
ISKCON vice-president, Kolkata, Radharamn Das, who is in-charge of Digha Jagannath Dham said Deb’s claim is absurd as it is impossible to have copyrights on how to worship deities in Puri temple. “With all due respect to Puri king, we want to say that the person who is advising His majesty does not know legality. I don’t think that copyrights can be given on how to worship Lord Jagannath. In Sanatan Dharma, there are different sampradaya and there are different ways to worship Lord Jagannath. The beauty of Sanatan Dharma is that there are different branches and different philosophies,” Das said.
He also added: “Obtaining copyrights for worshipping Lord Jagannath is impossible. Even if they get copyrights, it would only be applicable within Puri temple. They will have no right to say anything to ISKCON on how to worship Lord Jagannath.”
Ever since Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee inaugurated a temple at the seaside town of Digha on April 30 and called it ‘Jagannath Dham’, many in Odisha have objected to the word ‘Dham’ for
Digha temple.
Fingers were pointed at the Bengal government to which Radharamn Das had stated that after consecration (Pran Prathistha), a temple becomes the abode of the deities.
