Jagannath Puri
Large throngs of devotees maneuvering to enter the temple gates, chanting of vedic mantras, subtle smell of incense combined with flowers and tulsi adds o the charm of the heavenly abode of Lord Jagannath. Jagannath is a combination of two words Jagan + nath which means the God of the whole Universe. The main three deities of the temple are Lord Jagannath himself accompanied by Subhadra, the sister of Lord Jagananath and Balbhadra, the elder brother of Lord Jagannath. Being one of the four important pilgrims of Chardham, it is revered and visited by Hindu devotees who offer their prayers and are spell bound by the enormous presence of divinity.
There are four gates on four directions i.e, East, West, North and South to enter the temple. Each gate denotes Hindu religious philosophy and is named as Singh Dwar or (East Gate), Vyaghra Dwar (West Gate), Hasti Dwar (North Gate) and Ashwa Dwar (South Gate). Eastern Gate is also known as Moksha Dwar and people who enter the temple through this are believed to attain salvation. There are many astonishing facts about Jagannath temple which create an aura of enchantment and attract a large number of devotees to throng around. One tradition is the changing of the temple flag on the top of the temple which is almost 45 stories tall, a person climbs the temple carrying the flags tied around his waist facing opposite of the temple wall, climbs up without any external support and life saving arrangements and replaces the old flag with new one and then climbs down. This is to be done daily despite bad weather, strong winds or cyclones. It is believed that if this practice is missed even for a single day the temple will be closed for 18 years. To witness this, a large number of devotees gather in the temple compound around 4 to 5pm in the evening. Another astonishing fact is that the flag always flows opposite to the direction of the wind.
Some interesting facts about the deities
It is believed that when the figurines of the deities were being carved Vishwakarma, the chief sculptor has asked king Subal to close the doors of the working site for a period of 21 days but only after a span of 14 days the king could not hold his curiosity to see the idols and ordered to open the doors leading to incomplete idols which were instated in the temple. The idols are made of wood hence need replacement. At present after every 12 to 16 years depending on the astrological calculations the old idols of the Trinity are replaced after and the Pranpratistha of the newly carved Trinity the burial ceremony of the old idols. In the year 2015 the Pranpratistha ceremony was held and will be held as per astrological calculations in coming years. It is the only place where the burial and pranpratistha ceremony of God takes place. It is also said that the neem wood for carving the Trinity is not selected randomly as all neem trees are not found suitable for this. The temple pujaris or priests walk bare foot to the temple of Goddess Mangala ta Kakatpur, which is around 50 kilometers from Puri. The Goddess appears in their dreams, they get hints and they start tracing it. The neem trees are found deep inside the jungle far from crowds form three different directions. After that they are brought to the temple and secretly the carving work starts with select sculptors.
All the daily routine activities like that of a normal human being are also performed by the Lord himself. Lord’s daily routine starts around 5 am and there is no fixed time for His sleep at night.
During the empting of night the sound of the can be heard around the temple but when you enter it can’t be heard. It is believed that the sound of sea can create disturbance in the sleep of the Lord Jagannath. The local panda will tell a very interesting arrangement that in order to avoid the disturbance the sea sounds are absorbed in the large ears of Hanumaan who guards the gates of Lord Jagannath’s sanctorum.
There is a big rasoi or kitchen in which the food is cooked six times a day by the Panda’s for the Lord. The most interesting fact is that the food is cooked in a closed environment where the sunlight is not allowed as it is believed as it is offered to the sun. Likewise all the Pandas who prepare the food cover their nose to maintain the sanctity of the food. The food prepared is never wasted. The method of preparing food is also unique. All food is cooked in earthen pots and 9 pots containing all the ingredients are placed one on the top of each other. It is a miracle that the pot which is placed on the top is prepared first and the pot direct on fire is cooked last.
Shankarachrya established char dham’s of Lord Vishnu in the four directions of the country. Each Dham is dedicated to different activities of the Lord. It is held that Puri is the eating place of the Lord, Dwarka is the place of rest of the Lord, in Badrinath the Lord meditates, and in Rameshwaram, the Lord takes bath. As per the beliefs, one who is filled with the gratitude and devotion for the Lord, immerses his own self to the presence of the lord becomes one with Him and never ever distances himself either in body, mind and soul from him the Lord Jagannath.
The Rath Yatra
The bestest and widely famous is the yearly chariot festival. The Yatra takes place on the second day of shukla paksha of Ashad Month (Mostly June end to July first week). It is believed that every year, in this month, when the summer is at its height, the deity and his siblings step out to bathe in public, unable to bear the heat inside the temple.
Then, for the fortnight that follows, Krishna and his siblings take ill after they bathe with 108 pots of water under the blazing sun, and are kept in a recovery chamber called anasar ghar where they are kept in isolation and are given liquid diet prepared from special medicinal herbs.
When they recover, their appetite returns and they wish to eat the food cooked by their aunt Gundicha, whose house is a little away from his temple.
The path to the temple is around 3 kilometers long. in which Lord Jagannath along with Subhadra and Balbhadra ride on their chariots Nandighosh, Taladhwaja and Padmadhwaja respectively to visit their Mausi Maa Devi Gundicha’s temple. Millions of devotees arrive and participate in the rath yatra procession. They seek the blessings of Lord Jagannath by pulling the ropes of the chariots. This festival lasts for 9 days ending with the return of the deities in the shreekhestra.
How to reach
Biju Patnaik airport in Bhubneshwar, the captical of Orissa is the nearest airport. Puri is around 60 kilometers from Bhuvneshwar. This distance can be covered either by taxi or through bus which can take around 1 and half hours to two hours to reach Puri. The city is well connected through train. There are many trains from major cities of India.
Nearby attractions
Lingraj Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva in Bhubneshwar build around 10 th century by Keshari Dynasty rulers is a must visit. Another attraction in Bhubneshwar are the Udaygiri and Khandgiri caves located adjacent build during 1 st century BCE It is believed that most of these caves were carved out as residential blocks for Jaina monks during the reign of King Kharavela.
Konark Temple dedicated to the Sun God is UNESCO World Heritage site. It is 35 Kilometeres away from Puri. One can hire taxi or can board a bus to reach Konark from Puri.
The author Dr Srachna Sachdeva is Assistant Professor (Journalism and Mass Communication) at Govt Degree College Narendra Nagar Uttarakhand
