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Name
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Jagannath
Temple |
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Date
built
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11th century CE |
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Primary
deity
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Lord Jaganath |
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Architecture:
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Hindu temple architecture |
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Location
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Puri, Orissa, India. |
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| The Jagannath Temple
in Puri is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to Jaganath (Krishna)
and located in the coastal town of Puri in the state of Orissa,
India. The name Jagannath (Lord of the Universe) is a combination
of the Sanskrit words Jagat (Universe) and Nath (Lord of). The
temple is an important pilgrimage destination for many Hindu
traditions, particularly worshippers of Krishna and Vishnu,
and part of the Char Dham pilgrimages that a Hindu has to be
visited in one's lifetime. |
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| The temple is famous
for its annual Rath Yatra, or chariot festival, in which the
three main temple Deities are hauled on huge and elaborately
decorated chariots. Since medieval times, it is also associated
with intense religious fervor. The temple is sacred to the Vaishnava
traditions and saint Ramananda who was closely associated with
the temple. It is also of particular significance to the followers
of the Gaudiya Vaishnavism whose founder, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu,
was attracted to the deity, Jagannath, and lived in Puri for
many years. |
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Ritual chakra and flags at the
top Shikhara of Puri temple of Jagannath also related to Sudarsana
Chakra. The red flag denotes that Jagannath is within the building.
According to recently discovered copper plates from the Ganga
dynasty (reference required), the construction of the Current
Jagannath temple was initiated by the ruler of Kalinga, Anantavarman
Chodaganga Dev . The Jagamohana and the Vimana portions of the
temple were built during his reign (1078 - 1148 CE). However
it was only in the year 1174 CE that the Orissan ruler Ananga
Bhima Deva rebuilt the temple to give a shape in which it stands
today.
Jagannath worship in the temple continued until 1558, when Orissa
was attacked by the Afghan general Kalapahad. Subsequently,
when Ramachandra Deb established an independent kingdom at Khurda
in Orissa, the temple was consecrated and the deities reinstalled
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Legend
surrounding the temple origin
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| The traditional story
concerning the origins of the temple is that the original image
of Jagannath (a deity form of Krishna) was found near a fig
tree in the form of an Indranila or the Blue Jewel. It was so
dazzling that Dharma wanted to hide it in the earth. King Indradyumna
of Malwa wanted to find the image and to do so he performed
harsh penances to obtain his goal. Vishnu then instructed him
to go to the Puri seashore and find a floating log to make an
image from its trunk. The King found the log of wood. Vishwakarma
appeared in the form of artist and prepared |
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Buddhist
Origins
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| Some archaeologists
theorize that there existed a Buddhist stupa at the site of
the present one, which may have housed the tooth relic of the
Buddha before it was transported to its present location in
Kandy, Sri Lanka. Around that period Buddhism was assimilated
within the Vaishnava fold, whence Jagganath worship gained popularity.
This was in the tenth century, during the reign of the Somavamsi
kings of Orissa. |
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| Maharaja Ranjit Singh,
the great Sikh emperor, had donated massive amounts of gold
to this temple, (even more than he gave away to the Golden Temple
at Amritsar). In his last will, he also ordered that Kohinoor,
the most precious and greatest diamond in the world, to be donated
to this temple, but the diamond could never actually make its
way to the temple because the British, by that time, had annexed
the Punjab and all its royal possessions. |
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Structure
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| The huge temple complex
covers an area of over 400,000 square feet (37,000 m2),
and is surrounded by a high fortified wall. It contains at least
120 temples and shrines. With its sculptural richness and fluidity
of the Orissan style of temple architecture, it is one of the
most magnificent monuments of India. |
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| The main temple is
a curvilinear temple and crowning the top is the 'srichakra'
(a eight spoked wheel) of Vishnu. Also known as the "Nilachakra",
it is made out of Ashtadhatu and is considered sacrosanct. The
temple tower was built on a raised platform of stone and, rising
to 214 feet (65 m) above the inner sanctum where the
deities reside, dominates the surrounding landscape. The pyramidal
roofs of the surrounding temples and adjoining halls, or mandapas,
rise in steps toward the tower like a ridge of mountain peaks. |
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| The main shrine is
enclosed by a 20 feet (6.1 m) high wall. Another wall
surrounds the main temple. |
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| The Bada Danda or
the Grand Avenue |
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| The Singahdwara, which
in Sanskrit means The Lion Gate, is one of the four gates to
the temple and forms the Main entrance. The Singhadwara is so
named because two huge statues of crouching lions exist on either
side of the entrance. The gate faces east opening on to the
Bada Danda or the Grand Road.The Baisi Pahacha or the flight
of twenty two steps leads into the temple complex. An idol of
Jagannath known as Patita Pavana, which in Sanskrit, means the
"Saviour of the downtrodden and the fallen" is painted
on the right side of the entrace. In ancient times when untouchables
were not allowed inside the temple, they could pray to Patita
Pavana. |
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| The statues of the
two guards to the temple Jaya and Vijaya stand on either side
of the doorway. Just before the commencement of the Rath Yatra
the idols of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra are taken out
of the temple through this gate.On their return from the Gundicha
Temple they have to ceremonially placate Goddess Mahalakshmi,
whose statue is carved atop the door, for neglecting to take
her with them on the Yatra. Only then the Goddess allows them
permission to enter the temple. A magnificent sixteen-sided
monolithic pillar known as the Arun stambha stands in front
of the main gate. This pillar has an idol of Arun, the charioteer
of the Sun God Surya, on its top. The pillar originally installed
in the Sun temple of Konarak was shifted to Puri by the Raja
of Khurda. |
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Other
Entrances
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| The Singhadwara in
1870 showing the Lion sculptures with the Arun Stambha Pillar
in the foreground. |
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| Jagannath, Balabhadra
and Subhadra in Padma Besha or the Lotus Garb Apart from the
Singhadwara, which is the main entrance to the temple, there
are three other entrances facing north, south and west. They
are named after the sculptures of animals guarding them. The
other entrances are the Hathidwara or the Elephant Gate, the
Vyaghradwara or the Tiger Gate and the Ashwadwara or the Horse
Gate. |
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The
Mandapas
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| There are many Mandapas
or Pillared halls on raised platforms within the temple complex
meant for religious congregations. The most prominent is the
Mukti Mandap the congregation hall of the Sevayats or the temple
servitors. Here important decisions regarding conduct of daily
worship and festivals are taken. The Dol Mandap is noteworthy
for a beautifully carved stone Torana or arch which is used
for constructing a swing for the annual Dol Yatra festival.
During the festival the idol of Dologobindo is placed on the
swing. The Snana Bedi is a rectangular stone platform where
idols of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra are placed for ceremonial
bathing during the annual Snana Yatra. |
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Deities
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| The central forms
of Jagannath, Balabhadra and the goddess Subhadra constitute
the trinity of deities sitting on the bejewelled platform or
the Ratnavedi in the inner sanctum. The Sudarshan Chakra, idols
of Madanmohan and Bishwadhatri are also placed on the Ratnavedi.
The idols of Jagannath, Balabhadra, Subhadra and Sudarshan Chakra
are made from sacred Neem logs known as Daru Bramha.Depending
on the season the deities are adorned in different garbs. Worship
of the deities pre-date the temple structure and may have originated
in an ancient tribal shrine. |
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Minor
Temples
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| There are numerous
smaller temples and shrines within the Temple complex where
active worship is regularly conducted. The temple of Mahalakshmi
has an important role in rituals of the main temple.It is said
that preparation of food as offering for Jagannath is supervised
by Goddess Mahalakshmi. The Kanchi Ganesh Temple is dedicated
to Ganesh. Tradition maintains that the idol of Ganesh was brought
from Kanchipuram in present day Tamil Nadu by the legendary
King Purushottam after he defeated the King of Kanchipuram in
ancient times. |
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Minor
Temples
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Devotees visiting
the Jagannath Temple in Puri on the occasion of Snana Yatra
There are elaborate daily worship services. There are many festivals
each year attended by thousands of people. The most important
festival is the Rath Yatra or the Chariot festival in June.
This spectacular festival includes a procession of three huge
chariots bearing the idols of Jagannath, Balarama and Subhadra
through the Bada Danda meaning the Grand Avenue of Puri till
their final destination the Gundicha Temple. In a year that
has two months of Ashadh which is usually once in twelve years
the wooden idols of the deities are replaced during the Nabakalevara
ceremony.On Akshaya Tritiya every year the Chandan Yatra festival
marks the commencement of the construction of the Chariots of
the Rath Yatra. On the Purnima of the month of Jyestha the Gods
are ceremonially bathed and decorated every year on the occasion
of Snana Yatra.Many other festivals like Dolo Yatra and Jhula
Yatra are celebrated by devotees every year. |
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Temple
today
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The Rath Yatra in
Puri in modern times showing the three chariots of the deities
with the Temple in the background
In modern times the temple is busy and functioning.The temple
is selective regarding who is allowed entry into the grounds.
Most non-Hindus are excluded from its premises, as are Hindus
of non-Indian origin. Visitors not allowed entry may view the
precincts from the roof of the nearby Raghunandan Library. There
is some evidence that this came into force following a series
of invasions by foreigners into the temple and surrounding area.
Buddhist, and Jain groups are allowed into the temple compound
if they are able to prove their Indian ancestry. The temple
has slowly started allowing Hindus of non-Indian origin into
the area, after an incident in which 3 Balinese Hindus were
denied entry, even though Bali is 90% Hindu. |
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The
Temple Kitchen
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| The temple's kitchen
is considered as the largest kitchen in India. Tradition maintains
that all food cooked in the temple kitchens are supervised by
the Goddess Mahalakshmi herself. It is said that if the food
prepared has any fault in it a dog appears near the temple kitchen.The
temple cooks or Mahasuaras take this as a sign of displeasure
of Mahalakshmi with the food which is promptly buried and a
new batch cooked. All food is cooked following rules as prescribed
by Hindu religious texts. Cooking is done only in earthen pots
with water drawn from two special wells near the kitchen called
Ganga and Jamuna. The food after being offered to Jagannath
is distributed as mahaprasad to devotees in the Ananda Bazar
located to the North of the Singhadwara inside the temple complex. |
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