Holding Jagannath Rath Yatra untimely is unacceptable: Kashi Vidvat Parishad

Prof Ramnarayan Dwivedi, general secretary of Kashi Vidvat Parishad, an organisation of Vedic and scriptural scholars, stated on Wednesday said that the annual Rath Yatra of Lord Shri Jagannath is held on Dwitiya Tithi of Ashadha month and conducting it on any other date goes against the scriptures.

The decision was made during a meeting of the Parishad, convened in response to a request from Maharaja Divyasingh Deb of Puri seeking the Parishad’s opinion on this significant matter.

The meeting was chaired by Kashi Vidvat Parishad President Padma Bhushan Prof Vashisht Tripathi and attended by many scholars including Prof Gopabandhu Mishra, Prof Kamlesh Jha, Prof Ramkishore Tripathi, Prof Harishwar Dixit, Prof Patanjali Mishra, Prof Ramakant Pandey, Prof Shankar Kumar Mishra, Prof Vinay Kumar Pandey, Prof Sadashiv Kumar Dwivedi, Dr Priyavrat Mishra, Prof Shailesh Kumar Tiwari, and Jagannath Puri Maharaj’s representative Dr Vijaya Ramanuj, said Prof Dwivedi.

He said that the devotees in some countries want to hold Rath Yatra of Mahaprabhu Jagannath in December.

Maharaja Divyasingh Deb of Puri, President of the Jagannath Temple Paricharana Committee, opposed the deviation upon learning about it. Seeking a classical resolution on the matter, he consulted the Kashi Vidvat Parishad. Following his request, a meeting was convened in the Parishad’s presence to deliberate on the issue.