Puri: Jagannath temple authorities of Puri Friday decided to send a delegation to President Droupadi Murmu or Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking their intervention into ISKCON holding Rath Yatra on random days across the world, contrary to the norms sanctioned by scriptures.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee (SJTMC), chaired by Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, the titular king of Puri, considered the first servitor of the Lord.
“A delegation from the temple committee will apprise the Prime Minister or the President on this matter after Niladri Bije (end of Rath Yatra festival in July),” Chief Administrator of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Arabinda Padhee told reporters after the meeting.
While SJTMC is the highest decision-making body of the Puri shrine, SJTA is the administrative wing of the 12th-century shrine.
Padhee said that the Gajapati Maharaja has expressed concern over ISKCON’s move and suggested that the matter be apprised to the state and central governments, before a delegation of the SJTMC meets the Prime Minister or the President.
He mentioned that ISKCON tried to observe untimely Rath Yatras at Hapur in Uttar Pradesh and Ferozepur in Punjab recently.
In April this year, the Gajapati Maharaja wrote to Murmu, stating that ISKCON had been celebrating Jagannath’s ‘Snana Yatra’ (bathing ritual) and Rath Yatra on dates throughout the year outside India without following sacred scriptures and tradition.
“This is hurting the sentiments of countless devotees of Lord Jagannatha across the world,” the letter read.
The temple authorities had sought to make ISKCON understand the norms, and the organisation, after prolonged deliberations, stated that it would follow the prescribed days in India, Deb said in the letter.
He also claimed that the ISKCON celebrated Ratha Yatra in more than 70 cities outside India on random dates this year.
The titular king of Puri had also written a similar letter to the Prime Minister on October 24, 2025.
Padheee told the press conference on Friday that the delegation will request the President or the Prime Minister to resolve the issue without further delay.
Apart from this, other issues such as the ongoing inventory of Ratna Bhandar (temple treasury) and intellectual property protection were discussed at the SJTMC meeting.
“The meeting today decided to temporarily defer the Ratna Bhandar inventory work due to major daily rituals of the deities ahead of the Rath Yatra. The exercise will resume after the Rath Yatra,” Padhee said.
In another decision, the SJTMC meeting decided to make certain amendments in the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the inventory work in Ratna Bhandar.
Following the amendments, all heavy and large ornaments and other valuables would be brought outside the inner treasury for weighing, photography and videography, before they are returned to their place in the chamber.
Padhee, a senior IAS officer, said that conducting those exercises was difficult to carry out inside the restricted space of the inner chamber.
On the temple’s move on protection of the intellectual property, he said that to prevent commercial exploitation of the centuries-old heritage, the authorities have filed applications with the Indian Patent Office.
The temple administration is fast-tracking the legal acquisition of official wordmarks and logos associated with the Shree Jagannath Temple to protect its intellectual property rights globally.
