Fast Facts
Location : Puri, Orissa. 65 kms away from Bhubaneswar.
Built By : King Ananta Varman Chodaganga Dev
Built In : 12th century A.D
Dedicated To : Lord Jagannath
Overview
One of three ‘Golden Triangle sites of Orissa’, Puri revolves
around the great Jagannath Temple and its famous Rath Yatra festival. The 65
mts high Jagannath temple stands on an elevated ground that makes its appear
even larger. Infact, you can see the temple from a long distance. It is said
that the construction of the temple was begun by King Chora Ganda Deva and
completed by his descendant, Ananta Varman Chodaganda Dev in the 12th
century.
Lord Jagannath literally means the ‘Lord of Universe’ and is the
presiding deity of the temple. In addition to Lord Jagannath, his brother
Balabhadra and his sister Subhadra are also worshipped here. Other deities
of the temple are Sudarshan, Madhaba, Sridevi and Bhudevi.
Non-Hindus or non-believers are not allowed inside the temple but they can
look down into the temple from the roof of the Raghunandan Library, located
opposite the main entrance to the temple. Although non-believers are not
able to see the deities kept inside the temple, but there are many shops
along the road outside the temple where they can buy small wooden replicas
of the deities.
Jagannath temple is surrounded by 30 different small temples all around. Of
these temple, the Narasimha temple is believed to have been constructed even
before the Jagannath temple. The Jagannath temple is said to have the
largest kitchen in the world which feeds thousands of devotees daily.
Temple Legend
According to Skanda-Purana, Brahma Purana and other Puranas, Lord Jagannath
was originally worshipped as Neela Madhav by a tribal king - Viswavasu.
After hearing about Neela Madhav, King Indradyumna sent a Brahmin priest,
Vidyapati to find out the deity. Vidyapati tried his best to locate the
place and find the deity but he failed. At last, Vidyapati married Viswavasu’s
daughter, Lalita. After repeated request Vidyapati’s father-in-law
Viswavasu took him blindfolded to the cave where Neela Madhav was
worshipped. Vidyapati was very intelligent, he dropped mustard seeds on the
way that helped him to find out the cave next time.
On his guidance, King Indrayumna proceeded immediately to Odra Desha
(Orissa) to see and worship the deity. As the king reached inside the cave
the deity disappeared behind the sand. Indrayumna was highly disappointed
and strongly decided not to return home without seeing the deity. The king
observed fast onto death at Mount Neela, later he performed a horse
sacrifice and built a magnificent temple for Lord Vishnu. One day while
sleeping the king had a vision of Lord Jagannath and also an anastral voice
directed him to bring the fragrant tree on the sea coast and make idols out
of it. As per the direction, king Indrayumna made the idol of Lord
Jagannath, Baladhadra, Subhadra and Chakra Sudarshan and installed them
inside the temple.
Architecture of the Temple
Jagannath
Temple is one of the finest examples of Orissan architecture and it will
surely amaze you with its superb designing elements. The temple complex is
almost square in shape, comprises an area of 10.7 acres, enclosed by two
rectangular walls. The outer enclosure is called Meghanada Prachira (665 x
640 ft.) whereas the inner enclosure is called Kurmabedha (420 x 315 ft.).
The walls of the temple are six mts high and they were built during the 15th
or 16th century. Jagannath Temple has four entrances namely – the
Eastern Singhadwara (Lion Gate), the Western Vyaghradwa (Tiger Gate), the
Southern Ashwadwara (Horse Gate) and the Northern Hastidwara (Elephant
Gate).
The main entrance to the temple is known as the Lion Gate which is guarded
by two stone lions. In front of the main entrance is a magnificent pillar
which is topped by an idol of the Garuda. You will also see an 11 m high
pillar in front of the main gate called the Aruna Stambha. Atop the pillar
is the figure of Aruna, the charioteer of the Sun God. In the centre of the
temple you can see the images of Lord Jagannath, Balbhadra and Subhadra.
On the top of the temple there is a wheel made of an alloy of eight
different metals known as Asta-Dhatu. The wheel is known as the Nila Chakra
and it is 11 ft 8 inches high and has a circumference of about 36 ft. Every
day a flag is tied on a mast attached to the Nila Chakra. On every Ekadasi
day a lamp is lit on the top of the temple.
Daily Rituals of the Temple
Every day several rituals are performed at the Jagannath Temple that
include Dwarpitha and Mangal Aarati (5 a.m), Mailam (6 a.m), Abakash (6 a.m
to 6.30 a.m), Mailam (6.45 a.m), Sahanamela (7 a.m to 8 a.m), Beshalagi (8
a.m), Rosha Homa Surya Puja and Dwarapal (8 a.m. to 8.30 a.m), Gopala
Ballava Puja (9 a.m), Sakala Dhupa (Morning food offering -10 a.m), Mailam
and Bhoga Mandap, Madhyanha (Afternoon food offering -11 a.m. to 1 p.m),
Madhyanha Pahudha (1 p.m. to 1.30 p.m), Sandhya Aarati, Sandhya Dhupa (7
p.m. to 8 p.m), Mailam and Chandana lagi, Badashringar Vesha, Badashringara
Bhoga, Khata Seja Lagi and Pahuda.
Temple Festival
Rath Yatra or Car Festival : One of India’s biggest
annual events, Rath Yatra takes place in Puri every year during the months
of June or July. Thousands of tourists and pilgrims flock to Puri from all
over the world to participate in the Jagannath Rath Yatra Festival. An
interesting festival of cars, the Car Festival commemorates the journey of
Lord Krishna from Gokul to Mathura.
During the festival, the idols of Lord Jagannath, Balaram and Subhadra are
brought out from the Jagannath temple and dragged in massive ‘cars’
(raths) to the Gundicha Temple. After an interval of nine days, the idols
are loaded back onto the raths and return back to Jagannath Temple.
Following the festival the raths are broken up and used to make religious
relics.
The main rath of Jagannath temple is 14 mts high and rides on 16 wheels
each around two mts in diameter. The raths take an enormous effort to pull
and it is virtually impossible to stop or turn the cars while they are
moving.
Other Attractions
Gundicha Mandir (Temple) : Gundhicha Mandir stands at the
end of Grand Road about 3 kms northeast of the Jagannath Temple. During the
Rath-Yatra festival, Lord Jagannath goes to the Gundicha Mandir and stays
for one week. After one week, he returns back to the Jagannath temple. It is
believed that Gundicha was the wife of King Indradyumna, who originally
established the Jagannath Temple. Non-Hindus are not allowed inside the
temple, they can walk within the walls and see the beautiful garden.
Puri Beach : Puri is also home to one of the finest
beaches of India. On the fine stretch of white sand pilgrims bathe in their
customary fully attired manner. Here, you will see Orrisan fishermen wearing
conical straw hats who guide bathers out through the surf. You can hire
lifeguard on the beach and go for a swim in the sea.
How to Reach
By Air : Nearest airport is Biju Patnaik Airport in state
capital Bhubaneswar at a distance 65 kms. Flights of Indian Airlines are
available for Bhubaneswar from Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad,
Vishakhapatnam and Raipur. From the airport, you can reach Puri by hiring a
car which takes one hour.
By Rail : Puri is one of the major railway station on the
South-Eastern Railway. It is directly connected by several trains to Delhi,
Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Patna and several other important stations of the
country. You can also go to Khurda Road Jn. to Bhubaneswar from where many
trains run for Hyderabad, Chennai and Mumbai.
By Bus : Puri is linked by State Highway No 8 with
Bhubaneswar. National Highway No 5 connects Bhubaneswar with rest of the
country. State transports buses and private buses are available to Puri from
various parts of the state. Canters, Mini Buses and Deluxe buses also ply
between Bhubaneswar and Puri. From Puri, there are a number of buses which
go Cuttack via Bhubaneswar.
Local Transport : Auto, taxi and cycle rickshaw are local
mode of transport available in Puri.
Places Where You Can Stay
Puri has good number of hotels including economic and star studded hotels
of western pattern. In addition to hotels, there are Dharamsalas for the
pilgrims in front of the temple.
