Ø The celebrated Temple of Lord Jagannath
Ø The wooden images of Jagannath Balabhadra and Subhadra were installed in that temple. The management of the temple continued under the Hindu rulers till 1558,
Ø when the State of Orissa
Ø Raja Mansingh, a General of the Mughal King Akbar, defeated the Afghans and annexed Orissa in to the Mughal dominion. It remained under the Mughals till 1751 A.D. Till 1760,
Ø the temple continued under the Khurda Raja, who was paying tribute to Mughals and Marhattas.
Ø Marhattas took up direct management of the temple till 1803. The Britishers annexed Orissa into British empire in 1803 and allowed Puri Raja to manage the temple. The position continued till 1947.
Ø The Jagannath Temple in Puri is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to Jagannath (Krishna) and located in the coastal town of Puri in the state of Orissa, India.
Ø The name Jagannath (Lord of the Universe) is a combination of the Sanskrit words Jagat (Universe) and Nath (Lord of).
Ø The temple is an important pilgrimage destination for many Hindu traditions, particularly worshippers of Krishna and Vishnu,
Ø and part of the Char Dham pilgrimages that a Hindu has to be visited in one's lifetime.
Ø 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.
Ø The temple is sacred to the Vaishnava traditions and saint Ramananda who was closely associated with the temple.
Ø 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.
Origins of the temple
Ø Ritual chakra and flags at the top of shikhara of Puri temple of Jagannatha also related to Sudarsana chakra. The red flag denotes that Jagannath is within the building.
Ø According to recently discovered copper plates from the Ganga dynasty the construction of the current Jagannath temple was initiated by the ruler of Kalinga, Anantavarman Chodaganga Dev.[6]
Ø The Jagamohana and the Vimana portions of the temple were built during his reign (1078 – 1148 CE).
Ø 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.[7]
Ø Jagannath worship in the temple continued until 1558, when Orissa was attacked by the Afghan general Kalapahad.
Ø Subsequently, when Ramachandra Deb established an independent kingdom at Khurda in Orissa, the temple was consecrated and the deities reinstalled.
Legend surrounding the temple origin
Ø The traditional story concerning the origins of the temple is that here the original image of Jagannath (a deity form of Vishnu) at the end of Krita yuga manifested near a banyan tree,near seashore in the form of an Indranila or the Blue Jewel.
Ø It was so dazzling that it could grant instant moksha, so the god Yama wanted to hide it in the earth, and was successful.
Ø In Dvapara Yuga King Indradyumna of Malwa wanted to find that mysterious image and to do so he performed harsh penances to obtain his goal.
Ø Vishnu then instructed him to go to the Puri seashore and find a floating log to make an image from its trunk.
Ø The King found the log of wood. He did a magnum yajna from which god YajnaNrisimha appeared and instructed that Narayana should be made as four fold expansion ,i.e. Paramatma as Vasudeva, his Vyuha as Samkarshana, Yogamaya as Subhadra, and his Vibhava as Sudarsana.
Ø Vishwakarma appeared in the form of artist and prepared images of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra from the tree.
Buddhist Origins
Ø 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.
Ø Around that period Buddhism was imbibed within the Vaishnava fold, whence Jagganath worship gained popularity.
Ø This was before the tenth century, during the reign of the Somavamsi kings of Orissa.
Ø 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.
Ø 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.
Cultural Integrity
Ø Shrikshetra of Puri Jagannath, as is commonly known, can verily be said to be a truthful replica of Indian culture. To understand this culture, one has to have some idea of the history of this land, which again is different from that of other countries of the world.
Ø Indian history does not contain accounts of imperialistic aggressions or invasions into the territorial integrity of any nation.
Ø Starting from Lord Jagannath himself, history has it that he was a tribal deity, adorned by the Shabaras, as a symbol of Narayan.
Ø an image of Narayana made of blue stone was worshipped by the aboriginals. He was brought to Nilagiri (blue mountain) or Nilachala and installed there as Jagannath in company with Balaram (Balabhadra) and Subhadra.
Ø The images made of wood are also claimed to have their distant linkage with the aboriginal system of worshipping wooden poles.
Ø To cap it all the Daitapatis, who have a fair share of responsibilities to perform rituals of the Temple
Ø So we may safely claim that the beginning of the cultural history of Shrikshetra is found in the fusion of Hindu and Tribal Cultures. This has been accepted as a facet of our proud heritage.
Ø The three deities came to be claimed as the symbols of Samyak Darshan, Samyak Jnana and Samyak Charita usually regarded as Trirath an assimilation of which leads to Moksha or the ultimate bliss.
Ø Lord Jagannath is worshipped as Vishnu or Narayana or Krishna and Lord Balabhadra as Shesha.
Ø Simultaneously, the deities are regarded as the bhairava (Shiva the formidable) with Vimala (the bhairavi or the consort of Shiva) installed in the campus of the temple.
Ø So ultimately we find a fusion of Saivism, Shaktism and Vaishnavism of the Hindu religion with Jainism and up to an extent Buddhism in the culture of Jagannath and the cultural tradition so reverently held together in Shrikshetra.
Acharyas and Jagannatha Puri
Ø All acharyas except Madhvacharya visited this kshetra.
Ø Adi Shankara established Govardhana matha here. A Lots of matha belonging to Ramanujacharya, Nimbarkacharya and Gaudiya Vaishnavism are seen.
Ø Srimad Vallabhacharya has a Mahaprabhuji ki baithak here also, which he established on his visit to Puri.
Ø Even evidence is there that Guru Nanak, Kabir and Tulsidas have visited this place.
Structure
Ø The huge temple complex covers an area of over 400,000 square feet (37 and is surrounded by a high fortified wall.
Ø 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
Ø 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",
Ø 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 above the inner sanctum where the deities reside, dominates the surrounding landscape.
Ø The pyramidal roofs of the surrounding temples and adjoining halls, or mandapas, rise in steps toward the tower like a ridge of mountain peaks.
Ø The main shrine is enclosed by a 20 feet high wall. Another wall surrounds the main temple.
The Singhadwara
Ø The Singahdwara, which in Sanskrit means The Lion Gate, is one of the four gates to the temple and forms the Main entrance.
Ø The Singhadwara is so named because two huge statues of crouching lions exist on either side of the entrance.
Ø The gate faces east opening on to the Bada Danda or the
Grand Road.
Grand Road.
Ø 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.
Ø In ancient times when untouchables were not allowed inside the temple, they could pray to Patita Pavana.
Ø Just before the commencement of the Rath Yatra the idols of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra are taken out of the temple through this gate.
Ø 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.
Ø 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.
Ø The pillar originally installed in the Sun temple of Konarak was shifted to Puri by the Raja of Khurda.
Other Entrances
Ø Apart from the Singhadwara, which is the main entrance to the temple, there are three other entrances facing north, south and west.
Ø They are named after the sculptures of animals guarding them.
Ø The other entrances are the Hathidwara or the Elephant Gate, the Vyaghradwara or the Tiger Gate and the Ashwadwara or the Horse Gate.
Deities
Ø 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.
Ø The Sudarshan Chakra, idols of Madanmohan, Sridevi and Vishwadhatri are also placed on the Ratnavedi.
Ø The deities of Jagannath, Balabhadra, Subhadra and Sudarshan Chakra are made from sacred Neem logs known as Daru Bramha.
Ø Depending on the season the deities are adorned in different garbs and jewels.
Ø Worship of the deities pre-date the temple structure and may have originated in an ancient tribal shrine.
Minor Temples
Ø There are numerous smaller temples and shrines within the Temple
Ø The temple of Mahalakshmi has an important role in rituals of the main temple.
Ø It is said that preparation of naivedya as offering for Jagannath is supervised by Goddess Mahalakshmi.
Ø There are other shrines namely Muktimandap, Surya, Vimala, Narsimha, Ramachandra, Hanuman and Eshaneshwara.
The Mandapas
Ø There are many Mandapas or Pillared halls on raised platforms within the temple complex meant for religious congregations.
Ø The most prominent is the Mukti Mandap the congregation hall of the holy seat of selected learned brahmins.
Ø Here important decisions regarding conduct of daily worship and festivals are taken.
Ø 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.
Ø 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
The Temple Kitchen
Ø The temple's kitchen is considered as the largest kitchen in India
Ø Tradition maintains that all food cooked in the temple kitchens are supervised by the Goddess Mahalakshmi, the empress of Srimandir herself.
Ø It is said that if the food prepared has any fault in it a shadow dog appears near the temple kitchen.
Ø The temple cooks take this as a sign of displeasure of Mahalakshmi with the food which is promptly buried and a new batch cooked.
Ø All food is cooked following rules as prescribed by Hindu religious texts.
Ø Cooking is done only in earthen pots with water drawn from two special wells near the kitchen called Ganga and Yamuna.
Ø There are total 56 varieties of naivedhyas offered to the deities,near ratnavedi as well as in bhoga mandap on five particular muhurtas.
Ø The most awaited prasad is kotho bhoga or abadha, offered at mid-day at around 1PM,
Ø depending upon temple rituals. The food after being offered to Jagannath is distributed at reasonable amount as mahaprasad, which considered as divine to devotees in the Ananda Bazar located to the North-east of the Singhadwara inside the temple complex.
Festivals
Ø 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.
Ø 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 Avenueof Puri till their final destination theGundicha Temple
Grand Avenueof Puri till their final destination the
Ø Early European observers told tales of devotees being crushed under the wheels of these chariots, whether by accident or even as a form of meritorious suicide akin to suttee.
Ø In a year that has two months of Ashadh which is usually once in twelve to nineteen years the wooden idols of the deities are replaced during the Nabakalevara ceremony.
Ø On Akshaya Tritiya every year the Chandan Yatra festival marks the commencement of the construction of the Chariots of the Rath Yatra.
Ø On the Purnima of the month of Jyestha the Gods are ceremonially bathed and decorated every year on the occasion of Snana Yatra.
Ø Many other festivals like Dol Yatra in spring and Jhulan Yatra in monsoon are celebrated by temple every year.
Ø The annual shodasha dinatmaka or 16 day puja beginning 8 days prior to Mahalaya of Ashwin month for goddess Vimala and ending on Vijayadashami, is of great importance, in which both the utsava murty of lord Madanmohan and Vimala take part.
Ø Anavasara à Literally means vacation. Every year,the main idols of Jagannath, Balabhadra, Subhadra,&Sudarshan after the holy Snana Yatra on the jyestha purnima,go to a secret altar named Anavasara Ghar where they remain for the next dark fortnight i.e. krishna paksha. Hence devotees are not allowed to view them.
Purushottama Kshetra and Its Siginificance
Ø Lord Jagannath is the Purushottama as per the scripture, Skanda Purana. In order to teach human beings how to lead life full of virtue he has taken the form of Darubrahman.
Ø He is the best brother to his siblings, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra. He is the best husband to goddess Shri.
Ø The most noteworthy thing is still in the month of Margashirsha, on three consecutive days during amavasya he does Shraaddha to his parents (Kashyapa-Aditi, Dasharatha-Kaushalya, Vasudeva-Devaki, Nanda-Yashoda), along with king Indradyumna and queen Gundicha.
Ø As a master he enjoys every comforts daily and in various festivals. He grants everything to all his subjects, and those who surrenders before him he takes the utmost care of them.
Temple
a) The Singhadwara in 1870 showing the Lion sculptures with the Arun Stambha Pillar in the foreground
b) The Rath Yatra in Puri in modern times showing the three chariots of the deities with the Temple
c) Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra replica in Padma Vesha alankara or the Lotus Garb
Ø In modern times the temple is busy and functioning. The temple is selective regarding who is allowed entry into the grounds.
Ø Most non-Hindus are excluded from its premises, as are Hindus of non-Indian origin.
Ø Visitors not allowed entry may view the precincts from the roof of the nearby Raghunandan Library
Ø There is some evidence that this came into force following a series of invasions by foreigners into the temple and surrounding area.
Ø Buddhist and Jain groups are allowed into the temple compound if they are able to prove their Indian ancestry.
Ø 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.
Ratha Yatra Festival in Puri. Painting by James Fergusson
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