Puri Vs Jagannathdham: Debate sparks over rename of 12th century shrine

Bhubaneswar, Nov 5: Debate over renaming Puri in view of the presiding lord Jagannath is sparking up across the state, after some social outfits put forth the proposal before the Puri administration recently. The outfit demanded to change the name of Puri to Shree Jagannathdham or Jagannathdham as Puri is famous in the world in the name of Jagannath. Sources said, officials under the aegis of ‘Shreekshetra Suchana’ presented the issue before the district administration to think for a new name at the Shree Mandir Managing Committee which was convened recently. Rajesh Mohanty, Gen Secy. Shreekshetra Suchana said, " We have demanded to rename Puri as Jagnnathdham Puri. We will start a signature campaign in favour of the movement and send it to the state govt seeking change of Puri. According to 1828 gazette, Britisher has divided ancient Orissa into three provinces namely Balasore, Cuttack and Jagannath. Thus,Puri should be unanimously renamed as Jagannathdham Puri, Mohanty added. The servitors extended support in favour of the motion and proposed the district administration to rename Puri as Jagannathdham or Jagannathpuri. However, Jagadguru Shankaracharya of Shree Gobardhan mutt Swami Nischalananda Saraswati said, Puri is a sacred name, adapted from the Skandhapuran. Presiding Lord Jagannath is its essence. Hence, it needs no new name at all. On the other hand, neither the state government nor the district authority have shared views regarding the statutory matter so far. Notably, a small twinkle sparked from the minds of a few elites, to rename Orissa and Oriya as Odisha and Odia respectively were finally granted due to its historic background. The present spark over renaming the 12th century shrine, Puri has triggered a new buzz among 4.5 crore of Odias along with enormous devotees of the lord Jagannath scattered world-wide.