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Perched on the Eastern Coast of Orrisa, a bear shaped littoral strip of land overlooking the Bay of Bengal, with fertile alluvial plains to the North East India, embellishes a Jagannath Temple inviting infinite number of vacationers seeking blessings of the lord. Various mythological stories in connection with Puri bounds to make it the most visited pilgrim’s destination in India.
Puri was once a thickly wooded hill region, home to the Sabras, a pre-Aryan and pre Dravidian tribe. Originally Jagannath was secretly worshipped as Nila Madhava by a Sabara Chief. One day the great devotee of Lord Vishnu wished to see the Lord in the most perfect form. The devotee was told in the dream that the deity could be seen in Utkala, now known as Orrissa. Vidyapati, the brother of king’s royal priest was deputed to find Nila Madhava, It was an image of extra ordinary luster believed to be the family deity of Visvavasu, a Sabara Chief. Visvavasu refused to reveal the secret place of worship and stayed on the condition to marry his daughter, Lalita. Unable to refuse his daughter, the Sabara chief took his son in law blind folded to the secret pl ace. Somehow, in order to get the route traced through which he traveled, he managed to drop the mustard seeds which sprouted in the dwelling of Nila Madhav. When Vidyapati narrated his experiences in front of the king, he got impressed and when he personally visited that place, the lord was found disappeared from the place of pilgrimage. Later at night, when king Indradyumna was sleeping, Lord Nila Madhvan appeared in his dream. He commanded him to gather the log of woods that could be set floating on the waves. A mysterious old man appeared in front of the king and offered to carve the image of lord on those logs, on the condition that no one will open the closed room while he will be working. But 14 days after the work was commenced, the wife of Indradyumna got impatient and opened the door. Eventually, it was no one else but the god of architect—Biswa Karma who was making the three idols, left the work half way. Leaving the idols incomplete, all the three idols are worshipped in the same way as they were seen in the past centuries. The images in the Jagannath Temple are all weather sculptures, made from mangosa or neem wood, which explains the unusual stocky depiction of the deities. After an interval of many years, there is Nabakalebara Ceremony (renovation ceremony) during which the wooden figures of all three gods are made afresh from neem log. The last renovation was performed in 1991’ others took place in 1863, 1893, 1931, 1950 and 1977. Since, the images look unfinished; therefore it would evoke the feelings of the common people. So to avoid this situation, the Krishna idol was designated Jagat-natha, a magical word that evokes devotion.
Following the trail till today, Jagnanath Temple in Orrissa has awesome grandeur, the shrine to Jagannath stands on the elevation point of 65m, dominating the landscape for miles around. The temple in surrounded by two enclosures, the first 20ft high, and measures 652 ft by 630 ft. In front of the main humongous gate there is an 11m high monolithic pillar which was once the part of Konark Temple and was brought here by the priest in the 18th century AD. Known as the Aruna Stambh, this pillar is made of granite stone which forms the base of Garuda, Lord Vishnu’s Carrier. In the vicinity there is a Singha Dwar, to lions guarding the gates of the temple, imbibes an impression of great fretwork existing during the ancient times. Connecting the outer enclosure to the inner enclosures is the Baisi Pahach, a sacred flight of 22 steps only. Parents bring their children here and get them roll over the stairs slowly in the expectation of spiritual bliss. At the 16 pillared Mukti mandap, located in front gate of the Southern Gate of the temple, priests of Puri 24 Sasanas hold theological discussions. At the end of the steps, turn left to the Ganesha temple, situated on the foot is the Rohini Kund which adhere an interesting story. The legend depicts that a crow, great devotee of lord Jagannath once fell into the water and the pilgrims noticed that she suddenly had four feet instead of two. Her devotion was acknowledged and she was called by the name Kaka Bhusundi; the Rohini kund is also known by this name. There are around 30 shrines around the main temple. By sparing some time out of their tight schedule, the devotees can also visit the three temples of Ganesha, Vimala and Lakshmi. The Tantric shrine of Goddess Vimala is located on the South Western corner of the inner compound. As the time of offering rituals or bhog is not fixed, the fortunate devotees would really feel blessed to see every activity happening in front of their eyes. In the Garbha Griha, seated upon the Ratna Simhasan is a 4 foot high throne, are the enchanting images of Lord Jagannath, his sister Subhadra and brother Balabhadra, and the goddesses Lakshmi and Saraswati. Swarg Dwar is another stretch to the south of the temple, where a dip in the scared waters could relinquish the devotees from all kinds of sins and opens the gate to heaven. Between the months of June to July, nearly a million devotees gather to participate in the Jagnnath Rath Yatra, one of the grandest festivals in the world. Three separate Chariots are built for Lord Jagannath, his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra. Jagannaths car is the largest with 16 wheels, followed by the his brother with 14 and sister Subhadra with 12 wheeled cars are pulled by the followers which is thus a golden opportunity for them, to see, touch, come closer to the lords--to feel the strong spiritual fervor respectively. The chariots remain at the Gundicha temple for seven days. The best place to see the chariots is from Raghunandan library in front of the temple or maths around the temple: they make seating arrangements in the balconies.
The nearest railway station to the temple is located 2KMS, at one of the arterial bisecting the city solely. The best time to visit the temple is between 5:30 AM to 10:00 AM. The devotees are not allowed to enter inside the premises when bhog is offered to the lords. The non-hindus are not allowed inside the temple. They can watch every religious ablutions happening through a balcony. Besides this, the beach side at Puri is sublime and the leisure travelers can equally enjoy a splash in the balmy waters during a stay at Hotels in Puri. Blessed with an excellent spate of services, the vacationers as well as devotees have an option to choose the best budget as well as premium hotels in Puri, suiting their preferences and pockets very well. Fittingly, the Hotels in India bestow the visitors with similar type of comforts expected by them. Toshali Sands Hotel, Mayfair Beach Resort, Coco Palms, BNR Heritage Hotel, Puri Hotel are some of the options which can most probably be availed or booked in advance by the aspiring pilgrims through an online booking exclusively.
While on a religious trip to the Jagannath temple, you can also savor the aroma of rice, spinach dish, kaduas, payas served in palm leaves. After filling the appetite with some appetizing delicacies, you can stroll at Ananda bazaar, where you can involve yourself in friendly discussion with the folks around sharing some cozy and quaint moments of life with them. As you will talk, you will certainly feel like getting mixed and become a part of the natural ambiance consisting of villagers and the way life moves in a straight direction.
Puri was once a thickly wooded hill region, home to the Sabras, a pre-Aryan and pre Dravidian tribe. Originally Jagannath was secretly worshipped as Nila Madhava by a Sabara Chief. One day the great devotee of Lord Vishnu wished to see the Lord in the most perfect form. The devotee was told in the dream that the deity could be seen in Utkala, now known as Orrissa. Vidyapati, the brother of king’s royal priest was deputed to find Nila Madhava, It was an image of extra ordinary luster believed to be the family deity of Visvavasu, a Sabara Chief. Visvavasu refused to reveal the secret place of worship and stayed on the condition to marry his daughter, Lalita. Unable to refuse his daughter, the Sabara chief took his son in law blind folded to the secret pl ace. Somehow, in order to get the route traced through which he traveled, he managed to drop the mustard seeds which sprouted in the dwelling of Nila Madhav. When Vidyapati narrated his experiences in front of the king, he got impressed and when he personally visited that place, the lord was found disappeared from the place of pilgrimage. Later at night, when king Indradyumna was sleeping, Lord Nila Madhvan appeared in his dream. He commanded him to gather the log of woods that could be set floating on the waves. A mysterious old man appeared in front of the king and offered to carve the image of lord on those logs, on the condition that no one will open the closed room while he will be working. But 14 days after the work was commenced, the wife of Indradyumna got impatient and opened the door. Eventually, it was no one else but the god of architect—Biswa Karma who was making the three idols, left the work half way. Leaving the idols incomplete, all the three idols are worshipped in the same way as they were seen in the past centuries. The images in the Jagannath Temple are all weather sculptures, made from mangosa or neem wood, which explains the unusual stocky depiction of the deities. After an interval of many years, there is Nabakalebara Ceremony (renovation ceremony) during which the wooden figures of all three gods are made afresh from neem log. The last renovation was performed in 1991’ others took place in 1863, 1893, 1931, 1950 and 1977. Since, the images look unfinished; therefore it would evoke the feelings of the common people. So to avoid this situation, the Krishna idol was designated Jagat-natha, a magical word that evokes devotion.
Following the trail till today, Jagnanath Temple in Orrissa has awesome grandeur, the shrine to Jagannath stands on the elevation point of 65m, dominating the landscape for miles around. The temple in surrounded by two enclosures, the first 20ft high, and measures 652 ft by 630 ft. In front of the main humongous gate there is an 11m high monolithic pillar which was once the part of Konark Temple and was brought here by the priest in the 18th century AD. Known as the Aruna Stambh, this pillar is made of granite stone which forms the base of Garuda, Lord Vishnu’s Carrier. In the vicinity there is a Singha Dwar, to lions guarding the gates of the temple, imbibes an impression of great fretwork existing during the ancient times. Connecting the outer enclosure to the inner enclosures is the Baisi Pahach, a sacred flight of 22 steps only. Parents bring their children here and get them roll over the stairs slowly in the expectation of spiritual bliss. At the 16 pillared Mukti mandap, located in front gate of the Southern Gate of the temple, priests of Puri 24 Sasanas hold theological discussions. At the end of the steps, turn left to the Ganesha temple, situated on the foot is the Rohini Kund which adhere an interesting story. The legend depicts that a crow, great devotee of lord Jagannath once fell into the water and the pilgrims noticed that she suddenly had four feet instead of two. Her devotion was acknowledged and she was called by the name Kaka Bhusundi; the Rohini kund is also known by this name. There are around 30 shrines around the main temple. By sparing some time out of their tight schedule, the devotees can also visit the three temples of Ganesha, Vimala and Lakshmi. The Tantric shrine of Goddess Vimala is located on the South Western corner of the inner compound. As the time of offering rituals or bhog is not fixed, the fortunate devotees would really feel blessed to see every activity happening in front of their eyes. In the Garbha Griha, seated upon the Ratna Simhasan is a 4 foot high throne, are the enchanting images of Lord Jagannath, his sister Subhadra and brother Balabhadra, and the goddesses Lakshmi and Saraswati. Swarg Dwar is another stretch to the south of the temple, where a dip in the scared waters could relinquish the devotees from all kinds of sins and opens the gate to heaven. Between the months of June to July, nearly a million devotees gather to participate in the Jagnnath Rath Yatra, one of the grandest festivals in the world. Three separate Chariots are built for Lord Jagannath, his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra. Jagannaths car is the largest with 16 wheels, followed by the his brother with 14 and sister Subhadra with 12 wheeled cars are pulled by the followers which is thus a golden opportunity for them, to see, touch, come closer to the lords--to feel the strong spiritual fervor respectively. The chariots remain at the Gundicha temple for seven days. The best place to see the chariots is from Raghunandan library in front of the temple or maths around the temple: they make seating arrangements in the balconies.
The nearest railway station to the temple is located 2KMS, at one of the arterial bisecting the city solely. The best time to visit the temple is between 5:30 AM to 10:00 AM. The devotees are not allowed to enter inside the premises when bhog is offered to the lords. The non-hindus are not allowed inside the temple. They can watch every religious ablutions happening through a balcony. Besides this, the beach side at Puri is sublime and the leisure travelers can equally enjoy a splash in the balmy waters during a stay at Hotels in Puri. Blessed with an excellent spate of services, the vacationers as well as devotees have an option to choose the best budget as well as premium hotels in Puri, suiting their preferences and pockets very well. Fittingly, the Hotels in India bestow the visitors with similar type of comforts expected by them. Toshali Sands Hotel, Mayfair Beach Resort, Coco Palms, BNR Heritage Hotel, Puri Hotel are some of the options which can most probably be availed or booked in advance by the aspiring pilgrims through an online booking exclusively.
While on a religious trip to the Jagannath temple, you can also savor the aroma of rice, spinach dish, kaduas, payas served in palm leaves. After filling the appetite with some appetizing delicacies, you can stroll at Ananda bazaar, where you can involve yourself in friendly discussion with the folks around sharing some cozy and quaint moments of life with them. As you will talk, you will certainly feel like getting mixed and become a part of the natural ambiance consisting of villagers and the way life moves in a straight direction.
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