Why the word 'Dham' might be removed from Digha's new Jagannath temple

After West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee used the word "dham" to refer to the newly inaugurated Jagannath Temple in Puri, has triggered controversy especially by the servitors of the Puri temple. The temple in Digha was inaugurated on April 30.

Why you have to reconsider calling Digha's Jagannath temple, a "Dham"

In a letter to Mamata, Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi said, using the term for any other temple or shrine other than the 12th-century Jagannath Temple in Puri hurts the sentiments of millions of devotees, and has asked to reconsider using the term “Jagannath Dham” for the newly built Jagannath temple at Digha in West Bengal.

“As you are well aware, Shree Jagannath Dham in Puri, Odisha, is one of the Char Dhams of Hinduism and holds unparalleled religious, spiritual, and cultural significance, not just for the people of Odisha, but for millions of devotees across India and the world. The name ‘Jagannath Dham’ holds a unique and sacrosanct identity linked to Puri,” Majhi wrote.

“The use of the term ‘Jagannath Dham’ in official and promotional contexts for the Digha temple is likely to cause confusion among devotees, dilute the historical identity of Puri as the original and revered abode of the Lord, and hurt the religious sentiments of the people of Odisha,” the CM said.

Daitapati BhabDas Mohapatra, chief servitor of Jagannath Puri Temple, said that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had to remove the word "Dham" and replace it with temple after the earlier move sparked controversy.

Minister of law Prithviraj Haricharan also said that dharu katta (sacred wood) was not used for constructing Lord Jagannath idol at the newly inaugurated temple in Digha, only neem wood was used to construct idols there.

Mamata, reacting to the controversy, said that she respected both the temples, but reiterated her reference to the Digha shrine as Jagannath Dham. She also asked why there was so much anger on this issue.