BHUBANESWAR: The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) has once again miffed devotees and servitors of the Puri Jagannath temple by deciding to host the ‘Snana Yatra’ and Rath Yatra of the Trinity in Houston, US, in November.
The Houston wing of ISKCON has announced plans to organise the ‘Snana Yatra’ of the Trinity on November 3 and the Rath Yatra on November 9 at American Legion Park. This will be the first time ISKCON hosts the Rath Yatra, which it has termed the Festival of Bliss, in Houston.
This decision comes despite previous assurances given to Gajapati Maharaj Dibyasingha Deb by ISKCON to host the festivals of Lord Jagannath in accordance with established tradition and scriptural injunctions.
Biswanath Mishra, working president of Mukti Mandap of Srimandir, described this action as an insult to Jagannath culture. In the past, the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) had warned ISKCON against such initiatives. According to the scriptures, Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra, and Lord Jagannath come out of the temple to bless their devotees only during two occasions: Snana Purnima and Rath Yatra, he stated.
The Trinity leaves Srimandir during the Dwitiya Tithi of Shukla Paksha in the Ashada month when the Rath Yatra begins. They return to Srimandir during Niladri Bije on Asadha Suklapakshya Trayodashi. “There is no provision in the scriptures for the Rath Yatra to be organised anywhere else after the Trinity’s Rath Yatra in Puri,” Mishra emphasised.
Similarly, senior servitor Binay Dasmohapatra stated that organising the Rath Yatra at an untimely moment demeans Jagannath culture. “ISKCON’s practice of worshipping Lord Jagannath is in no way connected to Jagannath culture. Despite several reminders, it has been organising the Rath Yatra in contradiction to the scriptures year after year,” he said.
While the Puri king could not be reached for comment, Mishra emphasised that Mukti Mandap strongly opposes this move by ISKCON.
Earlier, Gajapati Maharaj informed ISKCON that after the car festival in Puri, when the Trinity is taken to the Ratna Simhasana inside the sanctum sanctorum of Srimandir, no Rath Yatra can be organised elsewhere. “There is no sanction in the scriptures or tradition for observing the festivals of the Trinity on any other day, unlike many other sacred festivals such as Sri Krishna Janmashtami, Maha Shivaratri, Sri Ram Navami, and Durga Puja, which are observed on specified dates around the globe,” the Puri king pointed out.
Last year, Deb wrote to ISKCON after its Madhya Pradesh chapter announced plans to organize the Sri Jagannath Rath Yatra Mahotsav-2023 in Gwalior after the Puri Rath Yatra. In 2008, he had also written to the chairman of the governing body commission of ISKCON in Mayapur (West Bengal), urging them to hold the Rath Yatra on the specific date as observed in Puri.
