Amid an ongoing cold war between the administration of Shree Jagannath Temple Puri and the Government of West Bengal ever since inauguration of the Jagannath Dham temple in Digha, the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) in Puri has decided to patent several terms and logos associated with the Jagannath Temple and its rituals.
The terms to be patented include Srimandir (temple), Jagannath Dham (place), Mahaprasad (bhog), Shreekshetra (holy place), Purusottam Dham, Bada danda (main road to the temple), and Nilachal (another name of Puri).
The patenting initiative is intended to prevent the unauthorised use and commercialisation of these sacred terms and logos by individuals or organizations, thus safeguarding the temple’s unique identity and heritage.
Decision approved at a meeting chaired by the Maharaja of Puri
This decision was made in response to a dispute with West Bengal over the naming of a temple in Digha as “Jagannath Dham” and aims to protect the cultural, religious, and spiritual identity of the Puri temple. The decision was approved at a meeting of the Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee (SJTMC), chaired by the Puri King Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb and attended by various officials. The SJTA also plans to patent the temple’s logo.
On the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Tritiya on April 30 this year, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee inaugurated a temple dedicated to Lord Jagannath. After inauguration, the Chief Minister stated, “This is a pride of Bengal and a pride of India also. We are proud of it because of the architectural work.”
However, the cold war started soon after the inauguration as the temple administration in Puri felt that the new temple would pull more crowds and Puri temple would witness lesser number of devotees especially from Odisha’s neighbouring state West Bengal from where a large chunk of devotees throng the Puri temple.
Why Jagannath Dham? Asks Maharaja of Puri
Talking about the same, Puri Jagannath temple’s Chief Administrator Arvind Padhi said, “There is only one Jagannath Dham. Everyone knows the greatness of the Puri temple or Mahaprasad. There is no room for debate on this. However, this time the Jagannath Temple authorities of Puri have approached the court seeking a patent for words related to the temple. We have applied for a patent for trademarks, word marks, everything.”
The Chief Administrator is visibly upset over the ongoing tussle and so is Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, the Maharaja of Puri. Gajapati Divyasingh Dev said, “The temple has been built well. But why Jagannath Dham? There cannot be a Dham without Srikshetra. They gave the name of the Dham, they are distributing the Mahaprasad. The (state) government should walk on the path of law.”
Taking a jibe at the Puri temple administration as well as the Government of Odisha, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has said, “I respect the Jagannath temple in Puri, you should respect the Jagannath temple in Digha. When the puja was first held, Rajesh Daitapati was here. He is a Daitapati of Puri.”
Meanwhile, Digha in Bengal’s Purba Medinipur district is all decked up for the Rath Yatra. This is the first time that the Rath Yatra will be celebrated in the seaside town after the establishment of the Jagannath Dham Temple. The entire city has been decked up for the chariot festival.
