Sri Jagannath

The principal deity of Sri Jagannath Temple or Sri Mandir is Lord Jagannath. Though He is primarily worshipped as Vishnu or the Purusottama, He is also perceived as Bhairava or Siva by the Shaivites, Dakhina Kalika by the Shaktas and Rama, Krishna, Nrusimha by the Vaishnavas. Devotees of different sects regard Lord Jagannath as their supreme Lord and attribute all the mark of God in Him. Famous Gurus who were ardent devotees of the Lord are Adi Sankaracharya, Ramanujacharya, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Guru Nanak, Madhwacharya, Ballavacharya, Nimbark, Sankara Dev, Kabir Das, Tulsi Das etc. However the entrance into the Sri Jagannath Temple is restricted to orthodox Hindus only. But everyone can have a glimpse of the deities once in a year during Rath Yatra (Car Festival) when they come out of the temple to visit Gundicha Temple in three decorated wooden chariots.

Neela Madhav – The previous form of Sri Jagannath

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 »

Shri Jagannath Chetana and World Peace

Present day, the entire world is passing through a tense and chaotic stage, even worse than what was experienced during the two world wars. The present one is also a war; war between good and evil, sacrifice and greed, virtues and vices, tolerance and rigidity, religious co-existence and fundamentalism, traditional time tested values and quick… read more »

Mystery behind the image of Sri Jagannatha

The images of Sri Jagannatha, Balabhadra and Subhadra give an impression of uncouth figures. It is not at all artistic while its significance is not at all understood. The conception that led to the production of strange images of Sri Jagannatha, Balabhadra and Subhadra has yet to be traced, stranded in mystery- a legend. “Saraladasa… read more »

Sidebar