Purusottama Kshetra (now known as Puri) is the place where Lord Vishnu resides eternally. He was previously worshipped here as “Neela Madhav” in an idol form, made from blue sapphire. Later on, the idol of Neela Madhav vanished and Lord Vishnu manifested in the form of a wooden idol to show his favour to King Indradyumna and came to be known and worshipped as “Sri Jagannath”. The current wooden idol of Lord Jagannath is believed to be the continuation of that ancient tradition.
There’s a couplet in Rigveda, the most ancient text of the world which was written probably four thousand years ago – Ado Yaddaru Plavate Sindhoh Pare AparushamTada Rabhasva Durjano Tena Gachha Parastram Sayanacharya, a saint who flourished in the 14th century had interpreted these lines in this way, There exists in the sea shore in… read more »
According to Skanda Purana, Lord Jagannath (Vishnu) was first worshipped as Neela Madhav in an idol form in the Purusottama Kshetra before the installation of the wooden deities of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, Subhadra and Sudarshan by King Indradyumna. The centre of this Purusottama Kshetra was a blue mountain which was surrounded by deep jungles from… read more »
According to Skanda Purana, the idol of Lord Neela Madhav [Lord Purusottama], an earlier form of Lord Jagannath used to be worshipped by some tribal people and their chieftain Vishwavasu. However, the Purana does not give an account of when and how the tribe became associated with the worship of the idol. In one of… read more »