“Jagannath is timeless. He cannot be recreated by architecture or trend.”
That’s the firm stance of Dr. Ansuman Kar, a leading Jagannath scholar and grandson of the legendary Odia commentator Rajat Kar, as he responded to West Bengal’s announcement of constructing a “Jagannath Dham” in Digha.
The move, dubbed by Bengal’s government as a boost to religious tourism, has triggered a cultural and spiritual backlash from Odisha, the original and eternal home of Lord Jagannath.
Dr. Kar is unequivocal.
“This is a cheap and desperate attempt to attract political tourism,” he said.
“You cannot simply build a shrine and call it a ‘Dham.’ A Dham is sacred. It’s codified over centuries — through spiritual consensus, rituals, scriptural authority, and sanctification.”
This codification he refers to goes back to Adi Shankaracharya, the 8th-century philosopher-saint, who is credited with establishing the four cardinal Dhams of India — Puri, Badrinath, Dwarka, and Rameshwaram.
Shankaracharya didn’t just identify these sites randomly. He spiritually anchored them based on scriptural geography, tantric rituals, and metaphysical alignment. Puri’s Jagannath temple was designated as the Eastern Dham not because of location, but due to its unmatched spiritual ecosystem — centuries of Nabakalebara, Rath Yatra, and ritual continuity.
“It’s not real estate. It’s a spiritual frequency,” Kar says.
The backlash comes not just from scholars but from everyday Odias, who see Lord Jagannath as more than a deity — He is culture, He is memory, He is Odisha.
“Jagannath is the spine of Odias,” Kar adds. “Even Odias living in London or Bengaluru trace their identity to Him. You can’t duplicate that with sandstone and LED lighting.”
The Digha announcement, though cloaked in development speak, is seen by many in Odisha as another chapter in what feels like an ongoing cultural appropriation. From the Rasagola GI tag fight to attempts to rebrand Jagannath rituals, Bengal’s moves are being perceived as encroachments on spiritual and cultural territory.
Despite calls for boycotting tourism from Bengal, Dr. Kar urges calm.
“We don’t need to boycott anyone. Puri’s sanctity doesn’t compete. It transcends. Let them build what they want — it doesn’t dilute our truth.”
He’s confident the move won’t affect Odisha’s tourism or Jagannath’s sanctity. “Our culture is rooted in time, not trends. A few loud announcements can’t unseat a spiritual legacy that’s lived and evolved for over a thousand years.”
As debates rage online and op-eds fly, one truth remains unshaken — you can replicate architecture, but not sanctity. You can brand a building, but not a belief. And Jagannath, in Odisha’s heart, remains exactly where He’s always been.
