Exploring Divinity and Devotion
Welcome to a sacred journey through the divine realms of Jagannath Temple in Puri, Odisha. This iconic Hindu temple, dedicated to Lord Jagannath, is renowned for its vibrant rituals, awe-inspiring architecture, and profound spiritual significance. Join us as we delve into the rich history, fascinating legends, and unique traditions that make the Jagannath Temple a treasure trove of devotion.
Location :
Nestled on the eastern coast of India, the Jagannath Temple is situated in Puri, a historic city in the state of Odisha. It is one of the Char Dham pilgrimage sites for Hindus and holds immense religious importance, as Lord Jagannath is revered as the presiding deity and the Lord of the Universe.
Legends and History:
The temple is steeped in ancient legends and history. According to Hinduism, Lord Jagannath is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The temple's origin is associated with the legendary King Indradyumna, who desired to build a grand temple to house the deities. Started by King Chodagangadeva and finished by his grandson Anangabhimadeva in the late twelfth century, Jagannath Temple in Puri comes in the rundown of India's oldest spiritual sites. The fascinating legends surrounding the temple's creation add a mystical aura to its sacred grounds.
Architecture and Layout:
The Jagannath Temple showcases the quintessential Kalinga architectural style, characterized by its towering spires, intricate carvings, and elaborate stone sculptures. The main temple structure is known as the Deula, featuring a curvilinear spire called the Vimana. The temple complex also includes numerous other structures, such as the Natamandira (dancing hall) and the Bhoga Mandapa (offering hall).
Rath Yatra:
The annual Rath Yatra, or Chariot Festival, is one of the most significant and vibrant events at the Jagannath Temple. During this grand festival, the deities of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Devi Subhadra are placed on intricately decorated wooden chariots and pulled through the streets by thousands of devotees. The Rath Yatra attracts millions of pilgrims from across the globe, making it a spectacle of devotion and celebration.
Prasad and Mahaprasad:
The temple is renowned for its unique tradition of offering Mahaprasad, considered sacred and divine. The Mahaprasad is a grand feast prepared in the temple kitchen, where an army of cooks known as "Mahasuaras" meticulously follow traditional recipes to prepare a variety of dishes. The Mahaprasad is served on plantain leaves and is believed to bestow blessings and spiritual nourishment.
Nila Chakra and Snana Purnima:
The temple's towering Nila Chakra, a wheel-shaped structure atop the temple spire, is an emblematic symbol of the Jagannath Temple. During the Snana Purnima festival, the deities are ceremonially bathed with 108 pitchers of scented water. Devotees believe that witnessing this sacred bathing ritual can wash away sins and grant spiritual purification.
Suna Besha and Chandan Yatra:
The Suna Besha, or Golden Attire, is a breathtaking event where the deities are adorned with golden ornaments. It is a rare and auspicious sight that draws devotees in large numbers. The Chandan Yatra, a forty-two-day festival preceding the Rath Yatra, involves the anointing of the deities with sandalwood paste, symbolizing their cooling and soothing presence.
Mystery of Jaganath Temple
The Temple History
It was during one of the holy dips in the river, King Indradyumn found a wooden log floating. It is believed that Lord Vishnu then whispered to him that the floating log is his heart, which will remain on the land forever. The King fetches the wooden log and brings in the best architects and sculptors, but no one was able to carve an idol from the wooden log, since no one knew what Lord looked like. And none of their tools were able to protrude into the wooden log!
After a few days, the great Architect of Gods, Vishvakarma disguised as a sculptor visits King Indradyumna and promised to carve Lord's idols.
But he kept a condition that, he should not be disturbed for 21 or 30 days, since he needs that time to finish the idols. Saying this, he closed the door of his room and started to work on the wooden log. But after 16 days, the Queen of King Indradyumna, out of anxiety opened Vishwakarma’s room door. They found that he was not there in the room, and three incomplete wooden images were present there. He started the construction of the temple on a blue mountain (nilasaila) after the divine messages. Once the temple was built, he went to Brahmaloka to invite Brahma to sanctify the temple but due to Brahma’s meditation which lasted for some nine yugas, the temple got buried in sand and forgotten in time. It was later discovered by King Galamadhva and restored by the Ganga dynasty.
It took three generations worth of time and effort to brick up the humongous walls of the famous Puri's Jagannath Temple located in Odisha. Initiated by Chodagangadev and completed by his grandson Anangbhimadev in the 12th century, Jagannath temple is one of the oldest temples in the world.
Puri temple is found in the fusion of Hindu and Tribal Cultures. Jagannath, Balbhadra, and Subhadra are a trio of deities worshipped at the temple. Jagannath is considered an avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu, Balbhadra is Balram and Subhadra is their sister. The deities are adorned with different clothing and jewels according to the season. Worship of these deities pre-dates the building of the temple and may have originated in an ancient tribal shrine.
The Idols Are Changed Every Year
The old idols of the deities are disintegrated every 14-18 years and replaced by new deities made up of neem wood. The old idols are buried one after the other.
Temple Architecture
We call Sri Jagannath Dham as Sankha Khsetra.. It has a reason behind this. The Jagannath Dham PURI is just like a sankha (Conch shell). Not getting ?????
Have a look at these two images
The Great Maratha Devotion Within half a century in the rule of Marathas, they did a lot for the welfare of the temple.
During the Maratha rule, the Jagannath temple attracted pilgrims at large all over India.
The contribution of Marathas to the Jagannath culture is remarkable and far-reaching.
Before Maratha rule:
Due to continuous attacks by Invaders, For safety, the idol of Jagannath had to be moved out of the temple to safer places, quite a few times.
Aurangzeb went far, ordering its demolition, in 1692, but the local Mughal officials who came to carry out the job were somehow bribed out of it. The temple was merely closed. It was re-opened after Aurangzeb’s death in 1707. The Mughal-Maratha war kept his attention focused on the Deccan during this period.
In 1732, the Naib Nazim of Orissa – Muhammed Taqi Khan again came looking for the temple and idol-breaking opportunities.
The idols were again moved to a place called Kodala.
During Maratha rule:
Marathas were administrators of the former Mughal province Orissa from 1751 to 1803.
The first eight years through Mughal turncoats, and the remaining, via Hindu subedars.
The architect of this great victory was Raghuji Bhosale, who ruled over Orissa from Nagpur.
The devotion of the Marathas:
During their rule, Marathas paid special attention to the celebration of two annual festivals, the Rath Yatra, and the second (possibly), the Jhulana festival.
The Jhulana festival began during the Maratha rule (contends Narayan Misra).
The money spent on these two festivals from the government treasury amounted to about Rs 40,000, annually. Money earned via pilgrim tax etc was pumped back into making the temple and temple festivals grander and richer.
Raghuji Bhosale granted the estate of Kodhar to the Uttar Parusa Math. His mother, Chimabai, introduced Mohan Bhog offering at Jagannath Puri.
He also granted Braja Dev Goswami, head of math in Puri who preached the teachings of Swami Chaitanyaprabhu, tax exemption.
Another Maratha governor of Orissa patronized the Dakshin Parusa math and considered its head to be his guru. Brahmachari Gosain, a Maratha, made offerings of gold and silver to the temple. This was in the form of a gold statue of Laxmi and a silver statue of Narayan.
Direction of Flag
Usually in coastal areas during the day-time, the breeze blows from the sea towards the land and during evening hours it blows from the land towards the sea. But in the case of Puri, it is the reverse. It is found that the flag hoisted at the top of the temple dome always flows in the opposite direction of the airflow.
Scientific proof is that In this effect an obstacle that is blunt can make the wind have Eddie vibrations within making the wind direction almost change 90 degrees near it.
As you can see, due to the structure of the shikhara, there is indeed this effect that makes the wind bend and makes eddies flow inside it.
Having said that, Von Karman, the scientist discovered this effect in the 1930s. But Jagannath temple was built way before it in 1161. So, tell me who was more advanced? Science was always a subset of Dharma. Pranam. Jai Jagannath!
A Tradition Older Than Many Civilizations
Did you know that the flag of the temple in Puri is changed every day? Accomplishing this is no mean feat. Every day, a saint scrambles up the dome of the temple, which is approximately a 45-stories building, and changes the flag regularly for 1800 years as a piece of a ritual. If this ritual is not followed even for a day, the temple must be closed for the following 18 years.
The Sea Whenever we visit the seaside, the first thing that our senses catch is the crashing of waves on the shore. In the case of Jagannath Temple, After entering the temple from Singha Dwara’s entrance, after the first step, you cannot hear any sound produced by the ocean. But, when you exit it can be clearly heard. This can be noticed clearly during the evening. There is no scientific explanation for this. Legend has it that Subhadra Mayi, the sister of the two Lords wished peace and serenity within the temple abode and hence it was made to come about that way.
Mahaparsad and Cooking Method
Sankudi maha prasad includes items like rice, ghee rice, mixed rice, cumin seed, and asafoetida-ginger rice mixed with salt, and dishes like sweet dal, plain dal mixed with vegetables, mixed curries of different types, Saaga Bhaja', Khatta, porridge, etc. All these are offered to the Lord in ritualistic ways.
Shukhila maha prasad consists of dry sweet meals.
Besides Sankudi and Shukhila mahaprasad another type of dry mahaprasad is Nirmalya. This is also known as Kaibalya. In spiritual recognition, Nirmalya is equally important as Mahaprasad. There is a belief among Hindus that if Nirmalya is given to a person on his deathbed, he is certain to find a place for himself in heaven after his death following the atonement of all his sins.
It is said that every day 56 types of Prasad are offered to the Lord during the time of worship and all of these are prepared in the kitchens of the temple and sold to the devotees in Ananda Bazaar by the Suaras who are the makers of the Prasad.
The prasadam is cooked in pots over firewood. Precisely 7 pots are put one over another. These pots are mounted one above the other, and surprisingly, the pot at the top gets cooked first followed by the second, and so on.
In Hinduism, wasting food is considered a bad sign; There's one saying about the prasadam served in the temple. The number of devotees visiting the temple is 2000 to 20,00000 depending on a major event or ritual. However, the amount of Prasadam cooked in the temple is always enough for the devotees with not even a bite getting wasted. Thus, the prasadam is neither inadequate nor wasted.
Did you know? Prasad for as many as 1 lakh devotees can be cooked within a single day in the kitchen of Jagannath Mandir in Puri. That makes it not only the world’s largest kitchen but also the biggest open-air food court (Anand Bazaar) in the world. Show me a bigger kitchen!
India is known for its rich culture and spiritual heritage. Puri Jagannath Temple is one of the most visited temples in Odisha and all over the country and is also known for its annual Rath Yatra. The whole city comes alive with religious revelry, drum beats, and the devotees gathering to get a glimpse of the Lord as he comes out from the sanctum with his brother and sister to mingle with the common people.
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