Photo: Prachites · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
What is Shri Jagannath Temple, Puri known for?
The Jagannath temple at Puri is one of the Char Dham, and the seat of Lord Jagannath, worshipped with his elder brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra. The deities are carved from wood — neem — rather than stone, and are ceremonially renewed in the Nabakalebara rite in certain years. The temple complex, built in the twelfth century under the Eastern Ganga king Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva, is enclosed by high walls and crowned by the Nila Chakra on its spire.
Why is Shri Jagannath Temple, Puri significant?
Jagannath — lord of the universe — is worshipped in a form found nowhere else, and the temple's traditions are correspondingly its own. The Mahaprasad cooked in the temple kitchen, one of the largest in the world, is offered to the deities and then shared at the Ananda Bazar within the complex, where it is eaten without distinction of caste. The flag on the spire is changed every day by a servitor who climbs to it.
Which rituals and festivals are held at Shri Jagannath Temple, Puri?
The deities are served through the day by hereditary servitors in a long sequence of rites. Mahaprasad from the temple kitchen is the principal offering received by devotees.
The Rath Yatra, in Ashadha (June or July), is the great festival: the three deities are brought out and drawn on enormous wooden chariots down the Bada Danda to the Gundicha temple. Snana Purnima, the bathing festival, precedes it.
How do you reach Shri Jagannath Temple, Puri?
Puri railway station is about 3 kilometres from the temple, with direct trains from many cities. Bhubaneswar airport is about 60 kilometres away.
Entry to the temple is restricted to Hindus. Mobile phones, cameras and leather items are not permitted inside. The temple is on the Bada Danda, and the beach is a short distance away.