Puri, May 4: As controversy grows around the newly inaugurated Jagannath Temple in Digha in West Bengal, senior servitor and Daita Nijog president Ramakrushna Dasmahapatra appeared before the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) in Puri on Saturday for questioning.
The inquiry is part of a probe into allegations that sacred surplus neem wood from the 2015 Nabakalebara ritual in Puri was used to carve the idols installed at the Digha temple.
Dasmahapatra, a respected Daita servitor of Lord Jagannath, had attended the inauguration ceremony of the Digha temple on April 30, at the invitation of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. His presence and reported remarks to a regional West Bengal TV channel triggered the controversy. He allegedly claimed that leftover neem wood from the 2015 Nabakalebara ceremony was used for the Digha idols.
Following public outcry, Dasmahapatra held a press conference in Puri where he denied the earlier claim. He stated that the idols at the Digha temple were carved from regular neem wood under his supervision in Puri and not from the sacred surplus wood associated with Nabakalebara.
The conflicting statements led the Odisha government to take the matter seriously, directing the SJTA to investigate the claims. Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan assured that appropriate action would be taken against anyone found guilty.
The Nabakalebara is a rare and highly sacred ritual that involves the ceremonial replacement of the wooden idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra, and Lord Sudarshan with new ones crafted from specially chosen neem trees, known as Daru Brahma.
