On the coast of Odisha, the temple of Jagannath at Puri is a place where devotion, art and daily life are woven closely together. Jagannath, “Lord of the Universe”, is worshipped here with his elder brother Balabhadra and his sister Subhadra, in forms that look unlike the deities of most Hindu temples: broad faces, large round eyes and no visible limbs, carved from wood. Puri is one of the four sites of the Char Dham, and this page gives a fuller account than the short entry there.
Who Jagannath is
For most devotees Jagannath is Krishna, and for many he is Vishnu in his whole being. Odia tradition has long held him to be the one supreme Lord in whom several streams meet: Vaishnava, Shaiva and Shakta worship all find a place at Puri, and the temple compound has shrines to Vimala, a Shakti, and to Shiva. Some scholars have suggested that the deity grew from older local tribal worship, and others see links with Buddhist and Jain traditions. These theories are debated, and the devotee’s own answer, that he is the Lord of all, is the one the tradition gives. The poet Jayadeva, of the twelfth century, wrote his Gita Govinda in Odisha, and it is still sung in the temple’s worship.
The legend
The most widely told story begins with King Indradyumna of Malwa, a devotee of Vishnu, who sent a priest, Vidyapati, to find the Lord’s hidden form, called Nila Madhava. Vidyapati reached a forest where a tribal chief, Vishvavasu, worshipped the blue deity in secret. Vidyapati married the chief’s daughter and persuaded him to show the shrine, going to it blindfolded. By the time the king arrived the form had vanished.
The king prayed, and was told in a dream that the Lord would come in the form of a log of wood that would float to the shore. The log, a daru of neem, came ashore, and the king wished to have it carved. The divine craftsman Vishwakarma agreed to carve it on the condition that he was left alone in a closed room until the work was done. After some days, the queen became anxious at the silence, and the king opened the door. The carving was left unfinished, with no hands or feet, and Vishwakarma had gone. A voice told the king to install the forms as they were. This is why the deities are shaped as they are.
Many versions of the story exist, with different names and details, and the chief Vishvavasu’s descendants, the Daitapatis, still take part in the temple’s special rites. Sacred story is not history, and we do not claim it is.
History
The temple is placed by historians in the twelfth century, begun under the Eastern Ganga king Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva and completed by later kings of the dynasty. It is built in the Kalinga style, with a tall curved spire, and stands inside two walls. The main gate, the Lion Gate, faces east, and twenty-two steps, called the Baisi Pahacha, lead from it into the temple. A discus-like emblem, the Nila Chakra, rises over the spire, and a flag is changed on top of it daily. Odisha’s rulers long regarded themselves as servants of Jagannath. In the Gajapati tradition the king is the “first servant”, and sweeps the chariot’s floor at the festival. The temple has seen periods of upheaval and the deities have at times been moved for safety, so the story of its past is a complicated one. We give only what is generally agreed.
The wooden forms and Nabakalebara
The deities are of neem wood and are periodically replaced in a rite called Nabakalebara, “the new body”. It takes place in a year when the lunar month of Ashadha occurs twice, which happens at intervals of about eight, twelve or nineteen years. Priests search for specific neem trees that meet a long list of signs, and the new forms are carved in secret by hereditary carpenters and installed after the old ones are buried in the temple grounds. The most recent Nabakalebara was in 2015. For the adhika month itself, see our page on Adhika Masa. What is said about the inner details of the rite is closely kept by the temple servants, and we do not repeat it.
Festivals
The year at Puri is made of festivals. The best known is the Rath Yatra, on the second day of the bright half of Ashadha, when the three deities ride out on three huge wooden chariots. Jagannath’s is called Nandighosha, Balabhadra’s Taladhwaja, and Subhadra’s Darpadalana. They are pulled along the Grand Road to the Gundicha temple, where the deities stay for several days, and return in the Bahuda Yatra. The chariots are built anew each year. Before it, on the full moon of Jyeshtha, comes the bathing festival, the Snana Yatra, followed by a period of retirement, the Anasara. Other great days include Chandana Yatra in summer, the Suna Besha, when the deities wear gold, and the Niladri Bije, the return to the sanctum. The Rath Yatra page gives the date for your city, and the birthday of Krishna is described in our Janmashtami guide.
Mahaprasad
The temple’s kitchen is among the largest in the world. Food is cooked in earthen pots stacked over wood fires, by a hereditary body of cooks, and offered to the deity. It is then sold and shared at a market area, the Ananda Bazaar, as mahaprasad. Tradition at Puri holds that once offered, the food is shared by all who partake of it together.
How to get there
- Airport: Bhubaneswar, about sixty kilometres away.
- Railway: Puri station, with trains from many cities.
- Road: Puri is connected to Bhubaneswar and Konark by road, and the region’s other sites, such as the Sun Temple at Konark and Lake Chilika, are often visited on the same trip.
Etiquette and entry
Entry to the Jagannath temple has long been limited to Hindus, under rules set by the temple administration, and the rules and exceptions have been discussed publicly from time to time. Please read the official notices from the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration and respect them. Dress modestly, follow the instructions of the servants at the gate and keep your belongings to a minimum. Mobile phones, cameras and bags are restricted, and the rules are set by the temple. We quote no timings, fees or booking rules, which change, and you should use only the official website for any booking. Be careful with people who offer a quick darshan or a rite that must be done at once.
If you are elderly or unwell, ask your doctor before travelling in the heat or the festival crowds, especially around Rath Yatra, when the town is very full.
Related pages
Frequently asked questions
↳ Why are Jagannath's images unfinished?
The tradition says the divine carver Vishwakarma was interrupted by the king before he had finished, and so the forms were left without hands and feet. It is a sacred story with several versions.
↳ What is Nabakalebara?
It is the ritual renewal of the wooden deities, carried out in a year with two Ashadha months, at intervals of about eight, twelve or nineteen years. The latest was in 2015.
↳ Can non-Hindus enter the temple?
Entry has long been restricted to Hindus by the temple administration. Read the official notices of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration for the current rules.
↳ What is mahaprasad?
It is the food cooked in the temple kitchen in earthen pots and offered to Jagannath, then shared with pilgrims. It is bought at the temple's own market, and not on the street.
↳ When is the Rath Yatra?
On the second day of the bright half of Ashadha. Our Rath Yatra page gives the date for 49 cities.