Who Is Bageshwar Baba? The Rise of Dhirendra Krishna Shastri, Bageshwar Dham and the Controversies Around Him
From a Hanuman temple in a village in Madhya Pradesh to gatherings attracting huge crowds across India, the rise of Dhirendra Krishna Shastri, popularly known as Bageshwar Baba has been one of the most striking religious-media phenomena in India in recent years.
Shastri is associated with Bageshwar Dham, located at Gada village in Madhya Pradesh's Chhatarpur district. The religious centre is associated with Bageshwar Balaji, a form of Lord Hanuman. Its official website identifies the site as being in Gada, Chhatarpur district.
But Bageshwar Baba's public profile extends far beyond traditional religious preaching.
His highly publicised “Divya Darbar”, claims attributed to his ability to identify people's problems without first being told about them, his views on Hindu identity and religious conversion, and repeated political controversies have turned him into a nationally recognised and deeply debated, public figure.
In September 2026, he once again became the centre of a controversy, this time in West Bengal, following comments about non-vegetarian food and Durga Puja.
So who exactly is Bageshwar Baba, what happens at Bageshwar Dham, and why has Dhirendra Krishna Shastri attracted both enormous devotion and intense criticism?
Who Is Dhirendra Krishna Shastri?
Dhirendra Krishna Shastri is a Hindu religious preacher and katha vachak who heads Bageshwar Dham in Madhya Pradesh.
Born in 1996, Shastri rose from relatively modest beginnings in the Chhatarpur region to become one of India's most visible young religious preachers. Earlier reporting identified him as the head priest of the Hanuman temple at Bageshwar Dham in Gada village.
He is widely referred to by followers as “Bageshwar Dham Sarkar” or “Bageshwar Baba.”
His programmes combine religious storytelling, Hanuman devotion, public interaction and what has become his most famous format, the Divya Darbar.
UPDATED+ • QUICK PROFILE | |
Name | Dhirendra Krishna Shastri |
Popularly known as | Bageshwar Baba / Bageshwar Dham Sarkar |
Born | 1996 |
Religious centre | Bageshwar Dham |
Location | Gada, Chhatarpur district, Madhya Pradesh |
Religious association | Bageshwar Balaji / Lord Hanuman |
Known for | Katha programmes and Divya Darbar |
What Is Bageshwar Dham?
Bageshwar Dham is a religious site centred on the worship of Bageshwar Balaji, associated with Lord Hanuman, in Madhya Pradesh's Chhatarpur district.
The official Bageshwar Dham website lists its location as Village Gada, Post Ganj, Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh.
Its national visibility, however, has expanded dramatically alongside Shastri's rise.
Religious gatherings and katha programmes associated with him have attracted large numbers of devotees, while clips from his public appearances have circulated extensively on television and social media.
This combination of pilgrimage, religious preaching and digital visibility helped transform what was once predominantly a regional religious centre into a nationally recognised name.
What Is the ‘Divya Darbar’?
The Divya Darbar is perhaps the most distinctive element of Shastri's public persona.
During these gatherings, individuals from the audience may be called forward. Shastri is known for writing information on a slip of paper often referred to simply as a “parcha” relating to the person, their family or a problem they are facin.
Supporters regard such episodes as manifestations of divine grace associated with Bageshwar Balaji.
This is also where the central controversy surrounding Bageshwar Baba begins.
There is no established scientific evidence demonstrating supernatural mind-reading or clairvoyant abilities. Rationalists and sceptics have questioned how the information is obtained and challenged supernatural interpretations of these performances.
Shastri, for his part, has rejected allegations that he deliberately spreads superstition. During the major controversy in 2023, he said that what occurred was through the grace of Bageshwar Balaji and denied presenting himself simply as someone independently performing miracles.
UPDATED+ • BELIEF vs EVIDENCE
What devotees believe
Followers see the Divya Darbar and parcha as expressions of divine grace and believe Shastri can become aware of problems without being told beforehand.
What sceptics say
Rationalists argue that extraordinary or supernatural claims require independently verifiable evidence and have questioned whether techniques familiar from mentalism, information gathering or psychological observation could explain apparently extraordinary performances.
What is established
The popularity of the Divya Darbar is undeniable. Claims of supernatural ability, however, have not been scientifically established.
The 2023 Controversy That Made Bageshwar Baba a National Story
Although Shastri already had a substantial following, a controversy in Nagpur in January 2023 pushed him into the centre of India's national news cycle.
Rationalist Shyam Manav, associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti, publicly questioned Shastri's purported abilities and challenged claims surrounding his performances.
The organisation complained to Nagpur Police, raising questions under Maharashtra's anti-superstition law.
The episode generated enormous media attention.
Television debates, YouTube videos and social-media discussions attempted to answer essentially the same question:
Were people witnessing a miracle, or could apparently impossible knowledge have an ordinary explanation?
Nagpur Police examined the complaint and available material. Reporting on the case subsequently said police found no basis for prosecuting Shastri under Maharashtra's anti-superstition and black-magic legislation.
That distinction is important.
The police outcome did not scientifically establish supernatural powers. Rather, authorities did not find grounds for prosecution under the particular law in relation to the material examined.
From Religious Preacher to National Public Figure
The controversy did not diminish Shastri's visibility.
If anything, the national attention substantially expanded it.
His religious gatherings began receiving greater television coverage, social-media clips attracted enormous audiences, and his statements increasingly became part of national political and cultural debates.
That evolution illustrates something broader about contemporary religious influence in India.
Religious authority no longer depends solely on temples, pilgrimages or traditional institutions. Television, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and short-form video can transform a regional preacher into a national personality extraordinarily quickly.
UPDATED+ • THE BIG PICTURE
Temple → Katha → Divya Darbar → Television → Social Media → National Influence
Bageshwar Baba's rise reflects a new model of religious celebrity in India in which traditional faith practices coexist with mass gatherings, political debate and algorithm-driven digital media.
Religion, Hindu Identity and Politics
Shastri has also attracted attention because his speeches frequently extend beyond devotional themes.
He has spoken publicly on Hindu unity, religious conversion and the idea of a “Hindu Rashtra.”
That has made him a figure of interest not only to devotees but also to political parties, ideological organisations and critics concerned about the intersection of religion and politics.
Political leaders from different parties have appeared at or interacted with religious programmes involving Shastri over the years. During his rise to national prominence in 2023, Indian Express reporting noted visits and interactions involving political figures while also documenting controversy over his statements on religious conversion.
This does not mean every religious gathering involving a politician represents political endorsement. But Shastri's ability to draw large crowds gives his statements political significance that goes beyond the traditional role of a religious storyteller.
Why Bageshwar Baba Is Again in the News in 2026
The latest controversy has emerged in West Bengal, where Durga Puja is simultaneously a religious festival and a defining element of Bengali cultural identity.
Shastri's remarks criticising consumption of non-vegetarian food during Durga Puja triggered a backlash in the state.
Recent reports say he used the term “pakhandi” while criticising people who participate in worship while consuming non-vegetarian food, and described such food in strongly negative terms. The comments drew criticism from politicians and others who argued that they disregarded Bengal's distinctive religious and culinary traditions.
The controversy is particularly sensitive because Bengali Hindu religious traditions cannot easily be mapped onto dietary customs prevalent in every other region of India.
Fish and meat form part of the food culture of many Bengali Hindu families, and certain Shakta traditions historically incorporate practices different from strictly vegetarian traditions.
The response therefore crossed party lines.
West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya distanced the party from Shastri's position and defended people's freedom over dietary practices, while other political leaders also criticised the remarks.
A police complaint was subsequently filed against Shastri in Kolkata over the remarks.
UPDATED+ • WHY THE BENGAL ROW MATTERS
The controversy is larger than a debate about vegetarian and non-vegetarian food.
It highlights a recurring tension within Indian religious life:
Can one interpretation of Hindu practice be applied uniformly across India's vastly different regional traditions?
Bengal's Shakta traditions, food practices and Durga Puja culture developed within their own historical context. Practices considered conventional in one part of India may differ substantially elsewhere.
That makes the dispute simultaneously religious, cultural and political.
Faith, Miracles and Scientific Evidence
The debate surrounding Bageshwar Baba raises another important distinction.
Religious belief is personal and constitutionally protected. Scientific claims, however, are evaluated according to evidence that can be independently tested and reproduced.
A devotee may interpret an experience at Bageshwar Dham as divine intervention. That belief cannot automatically be treated as scientific proof of supernatural abilities.
Similarly, scepticism about supernatural claims does not by itself establish that a devotee's religious experience is fraudulent.
Responsible reporting therefore requires separating three things:
faith, personal testimony and independently verifiable evidence.
That distinction is particularly important when reporting claims involving healing, prediction, mind reading or supernatural intervention.
Why Does Bageshwar Baba Attract Such Huge Attention?
Several factors appear to explain his extraordinary rise.
He communicates in accessible Hindi rather than highly academic religious language. His public appearances contain drama and direct audience interaction. The Divya Darbar creates highly shareable moments. His statements frequently intersect with contemporary debates about religion and identity.
Most importantly, social media dramatically amplifies all of these elements.
A moment that once would have been witnessed by several thousand people at a religious gathering can now be watched by millions across India within hours.
Shastri therefore represents more than the rise of one religious preacher.
He represents the emergence of a digital-age religious celebrity ecosystem.
Bageshwar Dham Beyond the Controversies
It would nevertheless be incomplete to understand Bageshwar Dham exclusively through controversies.
For followers, the site remains first and foremost a place of devotion associated with Lord Hanuman.
Devotees attend religious discourses, seek blessings and participate in gatherings because of personal faith rather than political debates surrounding Shastri.
The official organisation continues to present Bageshwar Dham primarily as a spiritual centre organising katha, darshan and religious gatherings.
That difference between how followers experience Bageshwar Dham and how national media encounters Bageshwar Baba is essential to understanding the phenomenon.
The Bigger Story Behind Bageshwar Baba
Whether one views Dhirendra Krishna Shastri primarily as a religious preacher, charismatic spiritual personality or controversial public figure, his rise reveals something significant about contemporary India.
Faith remains enormously influential, but the mechanisms through which religious influence spreads have changed.
Temples coexist with YouTube.
Religious discourses become viral clips.
A statement made at a gathering can become a national political controversy within hours.
And charismatic religious figures increasingly operate at the intersection of faith, mass media, identity, politics and digital culture.
The continuing debate around Bageshwar Baba is therefore not only about one man or one temple.
It is also a story about how religious authority itself is changing in the age of social media.
UPDATED+ EDITORIAL NOTE
Updated+ respects religious belief while distinguishing faith from scientifically verified claims. References to supernatural abilities reflect reported beliefs or claims, not independently established facts.
