The Shree Jagannath temple is one of the holy four abodes of India located in Puri district of Odisha state. The temple is dedicated to Lord Jagannath, a form of Vishnu. The temple is situated on the eastern coast of the Indian state of Odisha. Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva, the king of the Ganga dynasty, constructed the beautiful temple. The temple has much more importance from the Hindu religious point of view. Many great saints such as Ramanuja, Ramananda had a very close relationship with this marvelous temple. Ramanuja built Emar mutt and Gobardhan mutt near the temple. Sri Chaitanya, the founder of Vaishnavism, was very much influenced by this temple and lived here for many years. The world-famous Rath Yatra which is also known as Chariot festival is a tradition celebrated each year, gathering devotees from all around- the world.
The temple is located in the town of Puri. The nearest bus stand is the Gundicha temple bus stand. The capital city of Bhubaneswar is 60 km away. Roadways will connect the city. East Coast Railway Station is in the town of Puri which links the town with significant cities by various trains and superfast expresses. Biju Patnaik International Aiport located 60 km away from the town is the nearest airport. Flights from different cities connect. From here, roadways or railways can be preferred.
Jagannath is the combination of two Sanskrit words 'Jagat' means the world 'Natha' means lord or protector. Jagannath puri is also Known as Sri Kshetra or Nilachala Dham or Sankha Kshetra due to the presence of Lord Jagannath. The temple also goes by the name of Badadeula.
The history of the Shree Jagannath temple is ancient. People usually told various stories about the construction of this temple. According to Legends King Indradyumna, Son of Bharat and Sunanda first built Jagannath temple. It is mentioned in the Indian Epic Mahabharat as well as other Puranas. As per Brahmana Purana and Skanda Purana.
It is believed that Lord Jagannath was first worshipped by another name Lord Neela Madhava by a Sabar king, Viswavasu. People came to know about the thing, but at first, no one believed him. Then King Indradyumna sent a priest Vidyapati to search for the place in the dense forest between the hills where Viswavasu used to go every day to worship his god. But Vidyapati was very unfortunate after several attempts he could not locate the secret place of Viswavasui. Finally, the priest thought of a plan and married the daughter of Viswavasu Lalita. Vidyapati consistently requested to tell him about the place. Finally, Sabar king agreed but in one condition that he will take his son in law blindfolded into the cave where he used to worship Lord Neela Madhava.
Vidyapati was a genius person. While going into the cave, he dropped mustard seeds on the way. After some days the seed germinated and began to grow and helped Vidyapati find the way to the cave. After hearing everything from Vidyapati, King Indradyumna immediately started a journey to Odisha to see Lord Neela Madhava. But when the king reached inside the cave, the statue got disappeared automatically. So the king got harsh. The deity got hidden somewhere inside the sand. The king made a vow not to go anywhere without seeing lord Neela Madhava and wait in the cave till death. Then he heard a divine voice Thau shalt see him. After that, the king built a magnificent temple of Lord Vishnu. He installed Narasimha Murti inside the temple brought by Narada. When the king was sleeping, he saw a flash of Lord Jagannath. Then the king prepared the image of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra and made from divine woods and installed them inside the temple.
King Indradyumna did a meditation on the top of the hill for cosmic creator Lord Brahma. Brahma was extremely pleased with him and came from heaven. Then Brahma asked the king to wish anything to him, and it will be fulfilled, the king hoped that he would be the last member of his family and will take the pride as the owner of the temple in the society.
Then the king found the woof log and performed a yajna. Narasimha appeared in the Yajna and instructed to appear in fourfold expansion. Lord Vasudeva, Samkarsana as his brother, sister Subhadra was Yogamaya, Sudarsana was Vaibhava.
Indradyumna got Viswakarma as the architect of god to build the magnificent temple. Lord Vishnu appeared in the guise in form of a carpenter to make idol condition and finish work.but after two weeks the queen became very much worried and thought that the carpenter is dead inside as no sound was coming inside from the temple. She begged the king to make the door open. But when the door was opened the work was not fully completed and lord Vishnu got disappeared. But the divine voice told Indradyumna to install the incomplete statue inside the temple.
Chodaganga Deva the great king of the Ganga Dynasty built this massive temple in the 12th century. Anantavarmanwas a Shivite but became the devotee of Lord Vishnu after coming to Utkal.as per the records the construction of the temple started in 1112 CE. Anangabhima Deva son of Chodaganga Deva completed the construction of the temple.
Like other Hindu temples, the statue of the god is usually made from stones and metals, but here in woods. It is replaced in every 19 years with the replica. Apart from Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism also worship the deity. The incarnation of Vishnu is part of the triad with his sister Subhadra and elder brother Balabhadra. Some mysterious phenomena can be witnessed in the temple. The flag of the temple waves in the direction opposite to that of the wind. The chakra can be seen facing front when viewed from any direction. Above the temple, no birds or planes can fly. Due to some mysterious divine power, it is a no-fly zone. The temple structure never casts a shadow. The wind here flows from land to sea in the daytime and from sea to land in the nighttime, opposite to the natural geographical law. The same amount of Prasad is made each day but it never gets wasted or insufficient for the devotees.
The food here is different from other places. Food is offered to lord six times in a day. Gopala Vallabha bhoga is offered during morning hour to the lord. It includes seven items such as Coconut grating, Popcorn known as Khai, Curd, Khua, Lahuni, Coconut water, and ripened Banana. In Sakala dhupa at 10 am 13 items are usually offered including Enduri cake and Mantha Puli. Then Bada sankhudi Bhoga is offered that consists of Pakhala with curd and Kanji payas. Then Madhyana dhupa.at the evening sandhya dhupa starts. The last Bhoga is known as Bada Simhara Bhoga. Magaprasad of lord Jagannath is distributed in the Ratnavedi among devotees. Gopala Ballav Bhog and Bhog Mandap Bhoga redistributed in the Anabsar Pindi and Bhoga mandap.
The temple itself has its own culture and traditions. Millions of people attend different festivals every year in Puri. Rath yatra is celebrated every year around June. Three chariots bearing Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra through bada danda and reach their final destination Gundicha temple. In spring Dola yatra is celebrated with joy and Jhulan Yatra in monsoon. In Kartika Pausa special ceremonies also held. The creation of Chariot starts after Chandan yatra. The wooden image of Lord Jagannath is believed somehow linked to worshipping wooden poles. Daitapatis are the ones who have the responsibility to perform all the ceremonies inside the temple in a proper way. It is also believed that at the beginning of cultural history, a fusion of the Hindu culture and Tribal culture takes place. Inside the campus of the temple, Bhairava and Vimala temple are there means the fusion of Vaishnavism, Shaktism, Saivism and of Hindu religion with that of Jainism.
The timing of the temple is from 5 in the morning to 11 in the night.