Britain's first Hindu temple dedicated solely to Lord Jagannatha has opened its doors on 23 May in the historical city of Bath. It has been set up at the former Culverhay School in Rush Hill, Bath, by Shree Jagannatha Temple UK group and the Bath Hindu Community.
Susmit Nayak, one of the ‘sevaks’ and founders of Shree Jagannatha Temple UK told Asian Voice how they came about choosing Bath as the location for Mahaprabhu’s home in the UK. “During last June-July, we, the founder members, discussed how we wanted to have a specific temple for Lord Jagannatha. In the UK, most Hindu temples have multiple deities with Lord Jagannatha as a side deity. So, we wanted a temple entirely dedicated to Lord Jagannatha.
“The plan was to establish the temple, make it sustainable and then reach out to wider community. We scouted for locations and one of the major considerations was the Bath Hindu Community, who for the last 13 years were trying to build a temple here. Since we have a good relationship with the Bath council here, we thought it would be an ideal place to start this temple. It is a tactical temple, with the venue on hire that can accommodate upto 150 odd people. But going forward we will start the donation drive, to fundraise for a land to build a temple. We are open to moving to any part of the UK, though our first choice is Bath and surrounding areas.”
When asked if this temple is connected to the original temple in Puri, Mr Nayak added, “The beautifully crafted idols of Lord Jagannatha, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra have travelled a long way. They were made from Neem wood from Srikhetra Puri, blessed by the Lord Jagannatha temple and Govardhan Peeth (Adiguru Shankracharya) in Puri, Odisha, India. Then it travelled to Ahmedabad Jagannath temple, then to Jagannath Temple Hauz Kaus, in Delhi and then to the UK. This was to garner support from various Indian communities and raise awareness about this initiative.”
There are about 1,700 Hindus who live in the Bath area and the founders have reportedly connected with and won further support from the Bath Interfaith Group, according to the BBC.
“We are open to every faith and community in the UK,” added Mr Nayak. “I have been in the UK for 20 odd years and our founder members are from different communities and professions. We invited representatives from the Balaji temple in Birmingham and Neasden temple in London to join us for the inauguration. We have garnered support from Oriya, Gujarati and Punjabi communities in the UK- but we want to reach out to more people. Everybody is welcome to visit Mahaprabhu.”
Lord Jagannatha is a deity worshipped by the Hindu community, especially in the Eastern India, along with his brother Lord Balabhadra and sister Devi Subhadra. It is believed Lord Jagannatha is an avatar of Lord Krishna and the Jagannatha temple in Puri, Odisha is particularly significant in Vaishnavism. It is regarded as one of the ‘char dham’ pilgrimage sites in India.
For more info see: https://shreejagannathatemple.org.uk/
