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The main event of Rath Yatra will be organized on July 16 in Puri city of Odisha.
Gajapati Maharaj of Puri and Shri Jagannath Temple Management Committee (SJTMC) President Dibyasingh Deb have appealed to ISKCON not to hold the Rath Yatra at the wrong time. ISKCON is organizing the Yatra on dates which are not as per the scriptures. The sentiments of the devotees are being hurt by this.
In a letter addressed to Shri Madhusevita Das Prabhu, Chairman of the Governing Body Commission (GBC) of ISKCON in Mayapur, he has asked to reconsider the decision taken in October 2025, under which Rath Yatra is being taken out at different times in foreign countries.
A day earlier, ISKCON took out a Rath Yatra in Kenya’s capital Nairobi. Rath Yatras were taken out in London on 21 June, in New York City on 14 June and in Sydney on 5 July.
It is noteworthy that this year, Snan Purnima was on June 29 and the main Rath Yatra will take place on July 16. The Rath Yatra always takes place on Ashadh Shukla Dwitiya Tithi according to the Hindu calendar.
Here, the construction work of all three chariots in Puri has reached the final stage. Here about 220 artisans including carpenters, assistants and painters are busy preparing the chariot day and night.
Gajapati sent the list of bath journey on wrong date
ISKCON had earlier assured the Puri temple that the Snana Yatra would be celebrated on the Jyeshtha Purnima tithi, but they are organizing the festival on different dates in many cities across the world. This year, Snan Purnima was on June 29. To support her point, Deb has also sent a list of bathing trips taken after May 1.
Dibyasingh also wrote that ISKCON is requested to ensure that all ISKCON temples around the world celebrate the Snana Yatra only on Jyeshtha Purnima Tithi.
Objection also expressed on proposed Rath Yatras in Madhya Pradesh
Gajapati Maharaj also objected to the plan of Ujjain-based ISKCON temple to organize Rath Yatra at 66 places in Madhya Pradesh between July 16 and 25. He said that according to religious texts, Rath Yatra is only a 9-day festival starting from Ashadh Shukla Dwitiya.
He said that even in Skanda Purana written by Maharishi Vedvyas, Lord Jagannath himself has given the fixed date of Snan Yatra and Rath Yatra. In such a situation, organizing events on arbitrary dates is contrary to ancient traditions and scriptures.
ISKCON’s argument – It is not possible to organize events everywhere on the same day in foreign countries.
Responding to the previous objections of the Puri temple, ISKCON had said that climatic conditions, government regulations and local cultural factors have a big impact in every country. Due to this, it is not always possible to organize Rath Yatra on the date mentioned in the scriptures.
ISKCON had told the Puri temple – “The weather, government and local culture in Russia are often not conducive to holding Rath Yatra on the dates mentioned in the scriptures.”
Bhaskar Knowledge…
The controversy regarding Rath Yatra is not new. In 2024 and 2025 also, Gajapati Maharaja of Puri had requested ISKCON to organize Rath Yatra as per the religious calendar of Puri in foreign countries also. This controversy came into the limelight in 2026 because in many countries the Rath Yatra was organized several weeks before the date of Puri, after which a formal objection was lodged.
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