Jagannath Temple - Puri

The Jagannath Temple  is  located in the coastal town of Puri in the state of Odisha.It is one of the most famous temples in india.The  name Jagannath literally means the Lord of the Universe.

It is one of the four holy dhamas of India, others  are Dwaraka, Badarinath and Rameshwaram. One of the most popular and famous attractions of the Jagannatha Temple of Puri comprises of Rath Yatra which is organized every year. It is the most popular chariot festival, where idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra, who are the main deities of Srimandir, are taken to the Gundicha temple in bejeweled chariots and are brought back to the mandir in the same way.

History :

The Jagannath Puri temple was originally built by the then Kalinga ruler Anantavarman Chodaganga (1078 - 1148 CE). Much of the present structure was built by King Ananga Bhima Deva in the year 1174 CE which was in 12the century. It took 14 years to complete the construction of the temple and was consecrated in 1198 CE. It is believed that the image of Lord Jagannathji was buried thrice in the Chilka Lake for protection from invaders.

Legends :

 According to  Skanda-Purana, Brahma Purana and other Puranas and later oriya works state that Lord Jagannath was originally worshipped as Neela madhab by a Savar king ( tribal chief ) named Viswavasu. Having heard about the deity , king Indradyumna sent a Brahmin priest, Vidyapati to locate the deity, who was worshipped secretly in a dense forest by Viswavasu. Vidyapati tried his best but could not locate the place. But at last he managed to marry Viswavasu's daughter Lalita . At repeated request of Vidyapti, Viswavasu took his son-in-law blind folded to a cave where Neelamadhab was worshipped.

     Vidyapati was very intelligent. He dropped mustard seeds on the ground on the way. The seeds germinated after a few days, which enabled him to find out the cave later on. On hearing from him , king Indradyumna proceeded immediately to Odra desha ( Orissa ) on a pilgrimage to see and worship the Deity. But the deity had disappeared .The king was disappointed .The Deity was hidden in sand. The king was determined not to return without having a darshan of the deity and observed fast unto death at Mount Neela, Then a celestial voice cried 'thou shalt see him '. Afterwards the king performed a horse sacrifice and built a magnificent temple for Vishnu. Narasingha Murti brought by Narada was installed in the temple. During sleep, the king had a vision of Lord Jagannath. Also an astral voice directed him to receive the fragrant tree on the seashore and make idols out of it. Accordingly the king got the image of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, Subhadra and Chakra Sudarshan Made out of the wood of the said tree and installed them in the temple.

Indradyumna's prayer to Lord Brahma

       

 King Indardyumna put up for Jagannath the tallest monument of the world. It was 1,000 cubits high. He invited Lord Brahma, the cosmic creator, consecrate the temple and the images. Brahma came all the way from Heaven for this purpose. Seeing the temple he was immensely pleased with him. He asked him as to in what way can HE (Brahma ) fulfill his (the king's ) desire, since HE was very much pleased with him for his having put the most beautiful Temple for Lord Vishnu. With folded hands, Indradyumna said , " My Lord if you are really pleased with me, kindly bless me with one thing, and it is that I should be issueless and that I should be the last member of my family. "In case anybody left alive after him, he would only take pride as the owner of the temple and would not work for the society.

The episode of the Lord's grace during a war with Kanchi.

        At one time, a king of Kanchi in the down south remarked that the king of Orissa was a chandala ( a man of very low caste or status) because, he performs the duties of a sweeper during the Car Festival . When this news reached the ears of the king of Orissa, he led an expedition to Kanchi. Before that, he implored the mercy of Lord Jagannath. The soldiers of Orissa marched towards Kanchi from Cuttack ( then capital city of Orissa, located on the banks of Mahanadi, at a distance of 30 Kms. from Bhubaneswar ).It so happened that when the soldiers, headed by the king Purusottam Dev, reached a place near the Chilika lake, a lady ,who was selling curd ( a milk preparation, sour in taste ) met him ( the king ) and presented a golden ring studded with precious gems and submitted . " My Lord, kindly listen to me. A little earlier, two soldiers riding over two horses ( white and black in colour ), approached me and said ' 'we are thirsty give us curds to drink.' I gave them curds. Instead of giving me money , they gave me this ring and said ,'the king of Orissa will come here, after some time , on his way to Kanchi. You present it to him and he will pay you the money.' So my Lord, you take it and give me my dues.

        It took no time for the king to  know that the ring belongs to Lord Jagannath. He was convinced that Jagannath and Balabhadra were proceeding to the battle field ahead of him to help him there. To perpetuate the memory of this great incident, the king founded a village in the Chilika lake area. As the name of the lady was Manika, the name given to the village was Manika Patana .Even to this day, the curds of this village are famous.

Restrictions :

The premises of the temple are under tight security. Only indians(hindus,jains,buddhists) are allowed into the temple.

Temple :

The huge temple complex covers an area of over 400,000 square feet  This 20 feet  high wall is known as Meghanada Pacheri., and is surrounded by a high fortified wall. The temple complex contains about 120 temples and shrines. The special shikhara of the Jagannath temple towers to a height of 192 feet. 

Structurally the temple consists of four chambers. The outermost is called the Bhogmandir, the next is the Nata-mandir pillared hall for music and dance, then the next is the Jagamohana - or the mandapa where devotees gather for worship and the last is the sanctum or the Deul enshrining the deities.

There are 36 traditional communities who render a specific hereditary service to the Deities. The temple has more than 5000 priests. There is a wheel on the top of the Jagannath temple made of an alloy of 8 metals. It is called Nila-Chakra (blue wheel). Everyday a different flag is tied to a mast attached to the Nila-Chakra.On every Ekadashi day a lamp is lit on the top of the temple near the wheel.

There are four gates:

·         The Eastern Simhadwara (Lion Gate).

·         The Southern Ashwadwara (House Gate).

·         The Western Vyaghradwara (The Tiger Gate).

·         The Northern Hastidwara (Elephant Gate).

This temple has largest kitchen in the world.

Main Deities :

The main Deities in the temple are Lord Jagannath, His brother Lord Baladeva, and his sister Subhadra. 

Other Deities :

The Bimala Shaktipeeth considered one of the most important of the Shaktipeeths marks the spot where Sati's feet fell. It is located near Rohini Kund in the temple complex. Until food offered to Jagannath is offered to Goddess Bimala it is not considered Mahaprasad. The temple of Mahalakshmi has an important role in rituals of the main temple. It is said that preparation of naivedya as offering for Jagannath is supervised by Goddess Mahalakshmi. The Kanchi Ganesh Temple is dedicated to Uchhista Ganapati.  There are other shrines namely Muktimandap, Surya, Vimala, Saraswati, Bhuvaneshwari, Nrsimha, Ramachandra, Hanuman and Eshaneshwara.

Legends around the temple :

Legend has it that the original image of Jagannath was found at the foot of a fig tree, in the form of an Indranila or the Blue Jewel. Due to its blinking brightness it prompted Dharma to request it to be hidden in the earth. King Indradyumna of the Malwa state who is intending to discover this image, performed severe penances, and was instructed by Vishnu to go to the Puri seashore, and look for a floating log, and fashion an image from its trunk. 

Rituals Of Temple :

• The different rituals carried in the Jagannath Temple are the "DWARPHITA & MANGAL ALATI " which is at 5 A.M. Soon after the opening of the door the sacred lamps is offered to the deities which is called "Mangal Alati".

• Then later "MAILAM" is done at 6 A.M. The word "Mailam" is used in Shri Jagannath Temple, which means change or removal of dresses and flowers etc. during time some specific sevaks change the clothes, flowers, Tulasi leaves of the deities worn on the previous night.

• Then “ABAKASH" is done from 6 A.M. TO 6.30 A.M. Which are the Purificatory rites like brushing of teeth and bath is known as "Abakash ".

• "SAHANAMELA " from 7A.M. TO 8 A.M. Though this is not a part of the rituals, but about one hour is been spent to facilitate pilgrims to go up to "Ratnavedi” or inner sanctums to have a Darshan, without paying fees for it.

• " BESHALAGI " is done at 8 A.M. After Sahanamela the deities are again been dressed up which can be witnessed from a little distance i.e." Bhitara Katha ".

• ROSHA HOMA, SURYA PUJA, AND DWARAPAL PUJA are done from 8 A.M. to 8.30 A.M. While some sevayats would be busy with vesha lagi of the Deities, Pujapandas at that time perform “Rosha Homa "(Fire Sacrifice) are at the kitchen and “Surya puja “at the surya temple near "Mukti Mandap ".

• GOPALA BALLAVA PUJA - 9 A.M. (which is the Breakfast of the God) the prescribed time for this is 9 A.M. This is the time for breakfast of the deities

• Then SAKALA DHUPA (MORNING FOOD OFFERING) 10 A.M. At this time puja jrtr is performed by three main Pujapandas with 16 Upachars or Sodasha Upachars.

• MAILAM & BHOGA MANDAP: 11 A.M. After Morning Dhupa or Puja the Deities changed their Clothes “and again Puja takes places in "Bhoga Mandap ", a place behind the Garuda pillar of Jagamohan.

• MADHYANHA DHUPA (Afternoon food offering) 11A.M. to 1 P.M. Like Sakal Dhupa, this puja is also performed with Sodasa Upachar in the afternoon.

• MADHYANHA PAHUDHA 1 P.M. to 1.30 P.M. If rituals have been performed in time and if time permits, the Deities retire for the afternoon.

• SANDHYA ALATI In the evening again sacred lamps are offered to the deities after Madhyana Dhupa Mailam. 14. SANDHYA DHUPA - 7 P.M. to 8 P.M.

Bhoga :

Every day there area about 5 bhogas which are been offered to the Lords, these are "Gopala-Ballava"(Break fast), "Sakal Dhupa" "Madhyana Dhupa" "Sandhya Dhupa" and "Badasinghar Dhupa".

Timings :

The Jagannathji temple gets open at 5am and is open till midnight. At 1 in noon the gates are closed for about a half an hour.

Best Time To Visit :

The best time to visit the temple is during the Rath-Yatra. Otherwise devotees can visit Puri Jagannath during Oct.-April.

Accomodation :

The Jagannath Temple Administration, keeping in mind the needs of the devotees, has come up with “Nilachal Bhakta Nivas” .

Other Places to visit :

Gundicha Mandir – The Gundicha Ghar or Gundicha temple is an important part of the famous Rath Yatra festival of Puri.

Sakshigopal – The shrine of Lord Sakshigopal is only 20 kms away from Puri. The sacred feet of Shri Radha can however be only seen on ‘Anala nawami’ day.

Brahmagiri – (25 kms from Puri) is known for the living shrine of Alarnath. Pilgrims visit Alarnath during Anabasara of Lord Jagannath.

Baliharachandi – 27 km to the south-west of Puri is the temple of Baliharachandi. Situated on a sandy hill near the sea and adjacent to the mouth of the river Bhargavi, Goddess Durga is worshipped here as Baliharachandi.

How to Get Here :

By Air : Bhubaneshwar is the nearest airport i.e. 60kms from Puri.

By Road  : Puri is well connected by road with important cities in and out of the state.

By Train :  Puri is well connected to the major city of Orrisa by regular and few express trains.