Jagannath Rath Yatra Dates: The matter has once again deepened between the Shri Jagannath Temple Administration of Puri and the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) regarding the world famous Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath. A high level committee of Puri Jagannath Temple has completely rejected ISKCON’s claim that carrying out Rath Yatra on any day other than the scheduled date is in accordance with the scriptures. The Puri temple administration has termed it as an attempt to mislead crores of Jagannath devotees around the world and create misunderstanding. In fact, Lord Jagannath There have been long-standing differences between the two organizations regarding organizing the festivals and Rath Yatra at any other time of the year instead of on the fixed date. In the year 2026, the Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath is going to start from 16th July, Thursday, which will conclude on 24th July 2026.
What is the whole matter?
A committee of the Jagannath Temple administration issued a statement saying that the claims made by ISKCON in the press release issued to the media on July 12, 2026 are not true. The administration says that taking out the Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath on any day other than the scheduled date is not approved by the scriptures. According to the temple administration, such claims can spread confusion among the devotees of Lord Jagannath living across the world.
What did the temple administration say?
SJTA said in its statement that the claim that the Rath Yatras taken out by ISKCON on different dates are in accordance with the scriptures is completely false. The administration says that the time and date of Lord Jagannath’s Rath Yatra is decided according to Sanatan tradition and ancient religious texts, hence it cannot be changed arbitrarily.
What is ISKCON’s side?
In this matter, when ISKCON’s National Spokesperson and Country Director of Communications Yudhishthir Govinda Das was asked to comment, he said that it would not be right to comment on this at the moment. Because we have not seen the statement of SJTA.
The meeting has already taken place
This matter is not new. According to the Shri Jagannath Temple administration, a meeting was held on this subject between the religious leaders of SJTA and ISKCON in Bhubaneswar on March 20, 2025. In the meeting, ISKCON cited scriptures and other grounds in favor of organizing Rath Yatra outside India on different dates throughout the year. However, the religious leaders of the Puri temple did not accept these arguments and rejected them on the basis of Puranas and authentic religious texts.
Why is the fixed date of Rath Yatra important?
Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra of Puri is not just a religious festival, but a symbol of age-old tradition and faith. Every year on the day of Ashadh Shukla Dwitiya, Lord Jagannath, elder brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra set out on a journey to Gundicha temple sitting on their chariots. This date is determined according to the Hindu calendar and classical traditions. There is a religious belief that changing the time of this festival is considered contrary to traditions. This is the reason why any kind of difference of opinion regarding the date of Rath Yatra is considered important from the religious point of view.
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