17 Jagannath Puri Temple Facts That Are Worth Knowing!

A time period of around three generations was acquired in order to build the holy walls of the Jagannath Temple.

The temple plays an important role to the devotees of the Hindu religion as it is considered one of the Char-Dham pilgrimages. Over a million people visit the Jagannath temple to procure the blessings of the famous Lord Jagannath.

The Jagannath Temple in Puri is popular for the Ratha Yatra which takes place annually.

The Ratha Yatra is about the venture of the three gods, Jagannath, Balram and Subhadra in three massive chariots, all across the city of Puri.

The Merriam Webster Dictionary has also added the word "Juggernaut" which derived its meaning from the colossal chariots. Apart from these journeys, the Jagannath temple is surrounded by several other Hindu temples making it feel like heaven.

The temple has been destroyed by several invaders over 18 times, among whom the most renowned name was of Firoz Shah Tughlaq in 1360 A. D. However, the kinds during those eras took proper care in the reconstruction of the temple, making Puri Temple one of the most special places in today's times.

If you like reading this article, make sure to check out our other articles on Konark sun temple facts and mausoleum at Halicarnassus.

Jagannath Puri Temple History

Shree Jagannath Temple derives its history when King Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva, from the Ganga dynasty, had placed his orders to construct the main temple. The assembly hall, or the Jaga Mohan along with the chariot known as Vimana was built along with the temple architecture. The final construction was finished by Ananghabhima Deva in the year 1174 AD.

Temple chronicles mention that there was a king known as Indradyumna who was a worshipper of the famous Lord Vishnu. One day, the king got very excited as he believed that Lord Vishnu had entered the planet Earth in the Nila Madhava avatar.

He made his priest Vidyapati search for the Almighty. Vidyapathi, in his progress, discovered a place where he found the Sabaras taking rest. The local chief head, Vishavasu invited Vidyapati to stay with them.

Vishavasu's daughter Lalita and Vidyavati got married in the next fable. Vidyavati had observed how Vishavasu always had a strong odour of camphor, musk and sandalwood.

He found out from Lalita about how her father used to worship the Almighty Nila Madhava. On asking Vishavasu, Vidyavati was blindfolded towards the path in the cave so that he could not find his way back. However, Vidyavati dropped a pack of mustard seeds on his way in order to identify the destination.

However, the deity did not come into his vision even after he reached the cave. This made Vidyavati fast unto death on the Neela mountain.

He could hear a feeble voice saying that the Lord would appear in front of him after a sacrifice. This made the priest sacrifice a horse and construct a temple where Narada placed the idol of Lord Sri Narasimha.

Narada once in his dream could hear Lord Jagannath telling him about a neem tree known as Daru from which he could build idols. Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Subhadra were the gods carved out by the king. The Sudarshan Chakra was also created with neem wood.

Then, the king went into prayers so that Lord Bramha and his deities would visit the temple. Lord Bramha was very satisfied with the outcome and granted the wishes of king Narada.

Jagannath Puri Temple Geographic Location

Jagannath Puri Temple facts are incomplete without the location of the site. After visiting the three Dhams, namely Dwarika, Rameshwaram and Badrinath, pilgrims never lose their option to visit the Puri Jagannath temple. The temple receives its name 'Jagannath' from the letters ja, ga, indicating the three siblings, Lord Jagannath, Lord Balaram and Devi Subhadra along with Sri Sudarshan.

The accurate location of the Puri Jagannath temple is latitude 19 18' 17'' and longitude 85 51' 39'', covering an area over 22990 mi (37,000 km). The outer high wall known as Meghananda Pacheri can be measured around 20 ft (6.1 m), which surrounds the full temple.

Kurma Bheda is the wall that surrounds the present temple and works as temple gates.

It is situated on the Grand Road of the city and has a travel distance of over 38.5 mi (62 km) from Bhubaneshwar. The nearest bus stands and railway station is present in Puri itself.

The Biju Patnaik Internal airport in Bhubanweshwar is where one can board their flights. The timings of the temple are from six in the morning till 10 in the night.

According to the Hindu Marriage Act, Hindus including Buddhists, Jain and Sikhs can be permitted entry inside the temple complex.

Jagannath Puri Temple Significance In Hindu Religion

Shree Jagannath temple has been one of the greatest temples as supported in the Hindu religion. Jagannatha, also known as the 'Lord of the Universe' is the main idol worshipped in the Puri Jagannath Temple. The whole temple is based on Oriya architecture, which supports Hinduism.

The main temple, out of 120 temples, can be identified due to the Nila Chakra. The Nila Chakra presents a flag atop the 40 mi (64.3 km) temple. The chakra consists of various flags which are titled Patita Pavana, hoisted on the topmost pot or the chakra.

The chakra consists of eight spokes namely the Navagunjaras and is made of eight metals referred to as Ashtadhatu. The main flag contains the symbol of 'Parambramha'. The priest climbs to change the flags of the temple dome every evening.

The Singhdwara or the Lion Gate is the one where people can enter the temple through the Baisi Pahacha, containing 22 stairs. The gate presents the stone and metal icons of two lions which suggest the name.

An image of Lord Jagannath was painted beside this main entrance for the untouchables known as Patita Pavana, who could pray from outside, without mixing themselves with the higher castes.

The next Hindu symbol present in the temple is the Arun Stambh. These high pillared halls are sixteen-sided and can be considered monolithic.

Arun, the God who drives the chariot of Sun God can be located here. This particular stambh was previously present in the Konark Temple in Puri, but Guru Bramhachari Gosain had placed it in the Jagannath Temple.

Hathidwara, Ashwadwara and Vyagrahadwara are the entrances through which devotees of Hinduism can enter the temple at Puri. The three are also referred to as elephant gate, horse gate and tiger gate. Previously, these gates were guarded by these animals when a ritual was performed.

One of the minor temples, the Vimala Temple is extremely renowned. According to Hindu mythology, the feet of Goddess Sati had been found in the area where the temple has been constructed. The temple kitchen makes the same food for God Jagannath as well as Goddess Vimala, thus commonly known as Mahaprasad.

The temple Puri also consists of the Mahalaxmi temple, where food Naivedya sent to Lord Jagannath is supervised by Goddess Mahalaxmi. Another renowned area, the Mukti Mandapa is a platform of 5 ft (1.5 m) and a mandapa of 900 sq ft (83.6 sq m).

A mysterious fact about Puri Jagannath is that no flights or birds fly over the top of the temple. There have been sources suggesting that there is a lack of flight by birds as the structure of the temple looks like the Sudarshan Chakra.

Deity Of Jagannath Puri Temple

The Rig Veda mentioned the worshipping ritual of a 'wooden idol' near the sea. Certain devotees believe that the deity ages older than the Hindu holy book of Vedas. Adi Sankaracharya mentioned that he had only noticed the deity on the Ratnavedi.

There have also been sources that suggest that the deities offer the simplicity and kindness of specific folklore, which can be witnessed in tribal fables. The forms of certain deities such as Purosattama, Balaram and Subhadra are comparatively different from the traditions specified by the Konds, Shabaras and Gonds.

They are known to worship certain gods such as Buddadeo, Jhangas and Lingas.

The deities of Jagannath, Balaram and Subhadra, the most worshipped ones in temple Puri, have a height between 76.2-91 ft (23.2-27.7 m). Fables suggest that a soft essence can be felt by touching these idols instead of the texture of wood. The reason is because of the wrapped silk present inside the wooden figures.

Black, white and yellow is the colours that are best identified with the triad. Social anthropologists have mentioned that these colours are known to be representing the three races of mankind.

The subject of physics advocates that the colour black is the most viable colour known for absorption, white as the best reflector and yellow as one of the primary colours which cannot be procured. The skin colour of Jagannath also indicates the skin of common farmers who get tanned due to the scorching heat of the sun.

The three Gods have a dress regimen according to their lunar calendar. The main deity wears red on Sundays, white with black borders on Mondays, five assorted colours on Tuesdays, blue on Wednesdays, yellow on Thursdays, white on Fridays and black on Saturdays.

There are two stories as to why God Jagannath does not have ears and hands. Poet Tulsidas had once visited Puri in search of Raghunath, more commonly known as Lord Ram.

Not finding a single trace, Tulsidas was extremely disheartened and believed that Lord Jagannath was non-existent.

But a boy came and made the poet understand as to how someone with no hands and no ears was an offshoot of Vishnu, just as Raghunath was of Param Bramha who too could not hear or walk. This made Tulsidas realise his misconception.

The second story was about how king Indradyumna was unsure about the shape of the idol he was about to create. He was then guided by Lord Bramha Who told him to meditate and seek the idea of Vishnu God Himself and how He wants His Avatar to be like.

The neem wood log was then discovered by the king but that too had its own mysteries.

The tools of the craftsmen broke when they were trying to break the wood. Looking at the unfinished idols, the King decided that Lord Jagannath in his temple would have such an unconventional shape.

Hence, the Temple Puri facts are intriguing to most of the country India as well as abroad.

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