 In the minds of the millions of Indians, Orissa
is the land of Jagannath. The name Jagannath literally means
“Lord of the Universe.” It is one of the most sacred pilgrimage
spots in India and it is also one of the four abodes (dhamas)
of the divine that lie on the four directions of the compass.
.The Jagannath temple in Puri was built approximately 1135-1150
by King Chodaganga of the Eastern Ganga dynasty and finished
by his descendant, Anangabhima Deva, during the 12th century.
This was during the classical period of temple building in
Orissa (approximately the eighth through thirteenth centuries).
One of the most revered of all temples of Lord Vishnu is the
Lord Jagannath Temple in eastern India. It was built in it's
present form in 1198 and is protected by two surrounding walls.
The conical tower of the temple is 58 mt high on which the
flag and the wheel ofLord Vishnu can be seen. The temple is
dedicated to Jagannath, who is identified by his devotees
with Krishna. It is also dedicated to Balabhadra and Subhadra,
the brother and sister, respectively, of Jagannath. These
three together are the principal deities of the temple, whose
images reside in the temple's sanctuary.Like the Lingaraja
temple in Bhubaneshwar, this temple too is not open for Non-Hindus
who contend themselves by viewing it from outside it's precincts.
Legend
Puri is an ancient shrine, enshrining Krishna - Jagannath
in the form of a wooden image.There is a legend about the
construction of the Jagannath temple and installation of three
deities therein. According to this legend in the Satya Yuga
there was a king Indradyumna, in Malava . He was a great devotee
of Vishnu. Once he had vision of Nilamadhava Vishnu in his
dream. Next day he sent emissaries in four direction to find
out where the image, he dreamt of, was being worshipped. Brahmin
Vidyapati was sent to the east. He came to Utkala and entered
a Savara village.He took shelter in the house of the Savara
King Visvavasu.His daughter Lalita fell in love with Vidyapati
who had to marry her so that he might get information about
Nilamadhava through his wife. Savara king Visvavasu used to
go to the forest every morning to worship Nilamadhava installed
in Niakandara (Blue cave). Vidyapati preesed his wife to request
her father to allow him to see Nilamadhava. Visvavasu agreed
on the condition that Vidyapati will be taken to the shrine
and brought back therefrom with a blindfold.When Vidyapati
heard this proposal he requested his wife to arrange something
so that he may subsequently know the path. Lalitha gave him
some sesame seeds to be scarred on the side of the road he
followed so that he might know the path when sesame plants
grew up during the rains.
 Accordingly Vidyapati was taken to Nilakandara where he had
the luck of witnessing Nilamadhava. But when Vasu Savara offered
the food to the deity, he did not take it as usual. At this
Vasu Savara was much dismayed. At this time he heard someone
saying from the air, “we would no longer continued to be worshipped
by you. Oh! Vasu, we will change the present Nilamadhava form
and assume Daru form. We shall be worshipped in the temple
by Raja Indradyumna.” Hearing this voice of God, Vasu Savara
came back with Vidyapati with a heavy heart.Then Vidyapati
bade farewell to his wife and father-in-law and started to
convey the news to Raja Indradyumna. On hearing the news,
Raja Indradyumna at once started with his retinue for Utkal
tosee Nilamadhava. On reaching Nilakandara he found it vacant.
But a voice from the air told him to construct atemple on
Nilasaila (Blue mountain).Accordingly Raja started construction
of a big temple. When it was completed he went to Brahmaloka
to invite Brahma to consecrate the temple. He had to wait
for nine yugas till Brahma finished his meditation. The temple
became buried in sand in his absence .
In the mean time a new dynasty ruled in Utkala. Galamadhva,
a king of that dynasty, detected the presence of the temple
buried under the sand. When he got the sand removed a beautiful
temple was revealed. He was considering to install images
in the temple when Indradyumna with Lord Brahma appeared before
him. There was a tussle between Galamadhava and Indradyumna
over the ownership of the temple. However, Lord Brahma decided
in favour of Indradyumna and asked Raja to install deities
in the temple.The raja was at loss where to find the deities.
At night God told him in dream that He would be floating in
the sea in form of log of wood. Then he employed thousands
carpenters to make deities but they failed ,as their instrument
did not work against the wood.
At last an old carpenter came and said he would make images
in 21 days on the condition that he would remain completely
shut up inside the temple for the period Raja consented, But
on the expiry of two weeks the Queen became anxious since
no sound came out of the temple. She thought that the carpenter
was dead. She pressed the king to open the door. The king
yielded and opened the door. He found three images in unfinished
state. The Raja was sorry but the God told him that he wanted
to assume that Bauddha form in Kali age. The King did discover
the log of wood. Vishnu and Vishwakarma appeared in the form
of artistes and prepared images of Krishna, Balarama and Subhadra
from the tree. The wooden images being worshipped are renewed
during special occasions.Interestingly, the Rig Veda refers
to Purushottama in the form of a wooden image, prepared from
a log of wood floating on the ocean. Puri is also referred
to in the Bhrama purana.
History
The celebrated Temple of Lord Jagannath now existent at Puri
was constructed by Raja Ananta Varman Chodaganga Dev in 12th
century A.D. 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, when
the State of Orissa was conquered by the Afghan Nawab of Bengal
and the temple was attacked by the Afgan General ‘Kalapahad’.
Then, an independent Khurda kingdom was established by Ramachandra
Deb, who assumed the management of the temple. He consecrated
the temple and reinstalled the deities. 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, the temple continued under the Khurda
Raja, who was paying tribute to Mughals and Marhattas. 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.
Architecture
The architecture of the temple follows the pattern of many
Orissan temples of the classical period. The main shikhara,
or tower,rises above the inner sanctum where the deities reside.
Subsidiary shikharas rise above ante-halls. The temple complex
is surrounded by a wall, on each side of which (that is, east,
south, west, north) is a gopura or gate, over which rises
a pyramid-shaped roof. The Jagannath temple is one of the
largest in Orissa. The temple complex covers several square
blocks and contains dozens of structures, including a mammoth
kitchen. Truly, the Jagannath temple at Puri is an architectural
and cultural wonder.
The main temple structure is 65m (214 feet) high and is built
on elevated ground, making it look more imposing. The temple
complex comprises an area of 10.7 acres and is enclosed by
two rectangular walls. The outer enclosure is called Meghanada
Prachira, 200m (665 ft) by 192m (640 ft). The walls are 6m
(20 feet) high. The inner wall is called Kurmabedha, 126m
(420 ft) by 95m (315 ft). The walls were built during the
15th or 16th century. This temple is said to have the largest
kitchen in the world, and feeds thousands of devotees daily.
The kitchen can prepare food for 100,000 people on a festival
day and 25,000 is not unusual on a normal day. There are thirty-six
traditional communities (Chatisha Niyaga) who render a specific
hereditary service to the deities. The temple has as many
as 6,000 priests.
There is a wheel on top of the Jagannath Temple made of an
alloy of eight metals (asta-dhatu). It is called the Nila
Chakra (Blue Wheel), and is 3.5m (11 ft 8 in) high with a
circumference of about 11m (36 ft). Every day, a different
flag is tied to a mast attached to the Nila Chakra. Every
Ekadasi, a lamp is lit on top of the temple near the wheel.There
are four gates: the eastern Singhadwara (Lion Gate), the southern
Ashwadwara (Horse Gate), the western Vyaghradwara (Tiger Gate),
and the northern Hastidwara (Elephant Gate). There is a carving
of each form by the entrance of each gate. The Lion Gate,
which is the main gate, is located on Grand Road. Thirty different
smaller temples surround the main temple. The Narasimha Temple,
adjacent to the western side of the Mukti-mandapa, is said
to have been constructed before the present temple.
Main Attraction
A famous festival related to the Jagannath temple is the ratha
yatra, or chariot festival, which occurs yearly in June or
July. During the Rath Yatra Festival, the images of Jagannatha,
Balabhadra and Subhadra are placed in mammoth chariots or
'raths', the largest of which is 14 meters (46 feet) high
and has 16 wheels, each more than two meters (seven feet)
in diameter, which are then drawn along Grand Road to the
Gundecha temple, a few kilometers away. After they have stayed
in that temple for seven days, the deities again ride the
chariots back to their home temple.. This journey commemorates
that of Lord Krishna from Gokul to Mathura.
Maha Prasada
Maha-prasada is pure vegetarian spiritual food offered to
Lord Jagannath. Just by eating this maha-prasada one makes
great spiritual advancement. Everyday, fifty-six varieties
of prasada are offered to Lord Jagannath. The preparations
are made traditionally and no onion, garlic, chillies or many
varieties of vegetables (considered alien) are not used. These
Offerings after being made to Lord Jagannath are in turn again
offered to Goddess Bimala Devi in the temple precincts and
then becomes Mahaprasadam. This Mahaprasadam is considered
very efficacious for spiritual liberation. One should respectfully
honor the Mahaprasadam sitting on the floor. This Mahaprasadam
is available daily after 3 -5 pm. This is sold outside the
sanctorum area but within the temple premises. TheMahaprasadam
remains hot for a long time as it is kept in the same earthen
pots which are used to cook it. Most probabaly it may be rice,
make it clear how much you want while ordering. Even if you
say it ten times, you will probably be brought way too much
the first time. Normally, maha-prasada means a few small pots
of sabji (vegetables), dhal, and a pot of rice ten times the
size of the small sabji pots.
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