There is resentment in one of India’s most-celebrated temple towns, Puri, against the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). The global movement to promote devotion to Lord Krishna through chanting has been organising Rath Yatra processions across several countries. In most, the dates have differed from the one prescribed by the centuries-old ritual calendar of the Shree Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s Puri. Further, the organisation refused to abide by the schedule of the temple’s managing committee in Puri.
This year’s Rath Yatra began on Thursday (July 16, 2026) at the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri and across India, with three towering wooden chariots carrying Lord Jagannath and his siblings – Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra – through the Bada Danda (Grand Road) in Puri. However, ISKCON has been conducting the festival internationally since May 9, as per their press release, and will cover 26 locations in Asia, North America, Europe, and Africa. They are also organising Rath Yatras at 66 places in Madhya Pradesh, between July 16 and 25, two of which are outside the nine-day period recommended as per the calendar of the Jagannath Temple in Puri.
Standing near one of the chariots, Badri Mishra, a 67-year-old cultural activist, his voice trembling in anger, let out a barrage of invectives against ISKCON. “If ISKCON comes to Puri,” Mishra growled, “it will face the anger of Lord Jagannath’s devotees.”
Escalating his attack, Mishra added, “We want governance like that of Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh’s Chief Minister). Jadi kounasi sangathan Bharatara Sanatan dharmaku ehara chariti pabitra sthana madhyaru gotiare asamman karibaku sahas kare, tebe tahaku nischinta kada karjyanusthanra sammukhina karibaku padiba. (If any organisation dares to disrespect Sanatana Dharma at one of its four sacred centres in India, it must face strict action.) It should no longer be allowed to operate in Odisha, or for that matter in India.”
The Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee has been raising the issue for several years now, but over the past couple of years there has been more press. People in Puri feel that with a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at both the Centre and the State, and the country’s President from Odisha, they stand a better chance at being able to influence ISKCON’s stand.
Binayak Das Mohapatra, a Biswabasu sevayat, who hereditarily performs temple services, stood with Mishra next to the chariot, and said, “Would the Christian community allow others to celebrate the birth of Christ on March 2 or October 5 instead of December 25? How can ISKCON take the liberty of observing the Rath Yatra on any day other than the one designated by the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri?”
Binayak Das Mohapatra, a Biswabasu sevayat, who hereditarily performs temple services. | Photo Credit: BISWARANJAN ROUT
The resentment is not limited to those directly associated with the temple. Devotees visiting Puri have also voiced concern over the matter. They say the State government did not act on the request of Dibyasingha Deb, the titular king of Puri, who is regarded as the adhyasevak, the foremost servitor, of Lord Jagannath.
Deb, who is also the chairman of the Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee, had sent two-page letters, each accompanied by a 152-page annexure, to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 4.
Seeking their intervention, the letters raised concerns over ISKCON’s conducting the Shree Jagannath Snana Yatra, the ritual bathing of the idols, and the Rath Yatra outside the prescribed dates.Deb also wrote to ISKCON, appealing to them to reconsider their stand.
This was met with a terse reply. On July 7, Madhu Sevita Dasa, ISKCON Governing Body Commission’s chairperson, rejected the appeal, stating, “There is no more to add, and therefore we respectfully bow out of this discussion once and for all.” ISKCON’s stance comes despite other prominent Hindu religious seats advocating adherence to established theological norms.
Dibyasingha Deb, the titular king of Puri, who is regarded as the foremost servitor of Lord Jagannath. | Photo Credit: BISWARANJAN ROUT
Deb is upset. “We have been able to stop the untimely Rath Yatra from being held within India by writing to different State governments. But we have not been successful in convincing ISKCON to stop organising the Rath Yatra on foreign soil,” he said.
In July this year, the Puri district administration sent a request to the Rajasthan government to stop a Ratha Yatra at Sikar, to take place on July 10. Rajasthan’s BJP government helped to stop it on that day. Deb emphasises that the dates are important because unlike other traditions where presiding deities remain in the sanctum and only Utsava Vigrahas (festival idols) are taken out, in the Jagannath tradition, the presiding deities themselves emerge from the temple during the Rath Yatra. The idols in other areas are consecrated in the traditions of Puri. Hence, they too need to follow the tithi (date).
Deb also questioned ISKCON’s overall aim. “In various Rath Yatra announcements, ISKCON solicits donations for nearly every ritual observed. If this is not profit-driven, then what is?” he said.
The ongoing tussle between the Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee and ISKCON is widely seen as part of Puri’s broader effort to safeguard its unique religious identity.
A traditional artist is colouring the idols on the chariot, ahead of the festival. | Photo Credit: BISWARANJAN ROUT
Earlier, the Odisha government, led by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, as well as former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, had expressed deep concern over the naming of the Jagannath-inspired Temple in Digha, West Bengal. It was named Jagannath Dham, another perceived deviation. Dham is a reference to the four religious sites considered most sacred for Hindus: Jagannath Puri in the east, Badrinath in the north, Dwarka in the west, and Rameswaram in the south. Despite repeated requests from Odisha, the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government did not act on appeals to drop the term ‘Dham’ from the temple complex. However, following a change in regime in West Bengal, with the BJP now in government, the term ‘Dham’ has been dropped.
The Rath Yatra is the most-celebrated festival associated with the Shree Jagannath Temple. Devotees in huge numbers gather on the Bada Danda to pull the three chariots as the deities travel 3 km to the Gundicha Temple and return on the ninth day. Puri Shankaracharya Nischalananda Saraswati, one of the foremost religious leaders of the Hindus, said the Rath Yatra be held after worship “on the morning of the second day of thebright fortnightof the month of Asadha”, the fourth month of the Hindu lunar calendar. This corresponds to June-July in the Gregorian calendar. The other Shankaracharyas of Sringeri and Kanchi peethams, along with heads of various maths (monasteries), supported the Puri Shankaracharya.
The Rath Yatra, marked by intricate rituals, presents a grand spectacle at the wide road connecting the two temples. The three chariots are newly constructed each year by designated templesevayats.During the festival, the chariots bearing the deities are pulled by devotees and assisted by police personnel. Since non-Hindus are not permitted entry into the temple, the yatra offers them a glimpse of the deities.
“Even the king of Puri assumes the role of a sweeper, ceremonially cleaning the chariot platforms,” saidSumant Mishra, a devotee of Lord Jagannath.
In 2025, the Shree Jagannath Temple administration constituted a committee to examine ISKCON’s arguments for holding the festival outside the prescribed date.HarekrishnaSatpathy, a member of the committee, noted that the Mukti Mandap, the temple’s highest decision-making body on rituals, along with Jagannath followers, have historically shown flexibility in different aspects, including chariot sizes and offerings.
“However, the day of the Rath Yatra cannot be compromised. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Supreme Court permitted the festival within the scripture-mandated nine-day period with skeletal presence ofsevayatsand adherence to safety protocols,” said Satpathy,former Vice-Chancellor of the National Sanskrit University.
Amid widespread criticism over timing deviations, ISKCON said it has aligned the dates of 247 Rath Yatras in India, about a third of those it conducts, with the prescribedtithi. However, it cited logistical constraints in doing so internationally.
Rangoli on the Grand Road where a 3-kilometre procession to the Gundicha Temple took place on July 16. | Photo Credit: BISWARANJAN ROUT
The ISKCON (Mayapur) Governing Body Commission’s former chairman, Govardhan Das,responded to Deb, saying obtaining permissions abroad for minority religious events was difficult, and most volunteers were unavailable on weekdays due to professional commitments.
He added that many temples in the West share chariots across cities, and climatic differences mean some regions experience harsh winters during the Rath Yatra period. “Strict adherence to thetithiworldwide would reduce occurrence of the 600 Rath Yatra festivals held in the West by 90%,” he said in a letter to Deb.
Satpathy explained that over the past four years, ISKCON now operates as two groups. While Bengaluru-based entity has agreed to follow the rituals of Puri, the group based in Mayapur in West Bengal has not.
Odisha Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan is sceptical about being able to influence the dates. “We don’t have any control over ISKCON on foreign soil. Even the ISKCON temple in Mayapur seems to have not much say over their sister organisations operating outside the country.”
Meanwhile, the Srila Prabhupada’s ISKCON has disassociated itself from the Mayapur-headquartered ISKCON. “We will conduct the Ratha Yatra in accordance with the dates advised by Shree Jagannath Temple at Puri,” said Madhu Pandit Dasa, chairman, Governing Body Commission, Srila Prabhupada’s ISKCON Group of Temples (Bengaluru-registered body).
Deb said a delegation will leave from Puri once the festival concludes, to meet the President and the Prime Minister. “Both are big devotees of Lord Jagannath. They know the rituals. Hopefully, they will take up the issue.”
Published - July 17, 2026 05:00 am IST