Bhubaneswar: Amidst Digha Jagannath Dham controversy, Jyotirmath Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati sharply reacted to the Jagannath Dham tag used for the temple in West Bengal. 

"Jagannath temple can be built anywhere, but the word 'Dham' should not be used as there is only one Dham of Lord Jagannath that is in Puri, Odisha. A 'Dham' can only be in one place. As Almighty is omniscient, Lord Jagannath can be worshipped at any place. The Lord's idols can be installed at a majestic temple, but it is inappropriate to call it as 'Dham'," said the Hindu seer opposing West Benngal government's move referring the Digha Jagannath temple to as 'Jagannath Dham'. 

Yesterday, Puri King Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb had objected to use of 'Dham' for the Jagannath Temple at Digha in Purba (East) Medinipur district of West Bengal. 

Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, who is the first servitor of Lord Jagannath, had approached Puri Mukti Mandap Pundit Sabha seeking their opinions as per Hindu scriptures over addressing the newly-built Jagannath temple in Digha as 'Jagannath Dham Cultural Centre'. 

According to priests of Mukti Mandap, headed by Puri Shankaracharya, Purushottam Kehtra is the abode of Lord Jagannath. Except Puri, Jagannath temple built at anywhere and installing idols of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Sudarsan can never be referred to as Jagannath Dham or Shree Purushottam Khetra, Shree Khetra or Nilachal Dham, the King affirmed. 

Notably, Digha Jagannath Temple was inaugurated on April 30 by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in presence of Puri Daita Nijog president Ramakrushna Dasmahapatra. The West Bengal government mentioned the temple as Jagannath Dham in its official documents, triggering controversy.