Jagannath means "lord of the world" and is the form of Hindu gods Krishna/Vishnu/ Rama/Budha etc. worshipped in Odisha. Odisha is known for its famous and sacred Jagannath Temple, which is in Puri. The Ratha Yatra or the Chariot festival is celebrated at the temple of Jagannath, associated with God Jagannath. The yatra is celebrated throughout world. Ratha Yatra, celebrated internationally is to commemorate Jagannath's visit to Gundicha Temple through Mausi Maa Temple in Puri. Read on to know the story behind Lord Jagannath, his visit, the festival, and the temple.
Rath Yatra in New York!
The unique feature of the temple is that Krishna is worshipped not with a spouse, but with his siblings, his elder brother Balabhadra and his younger sister Subhadra -- accompanied by the Sudarshana Chakra.
The images are malformed, with no hands or feet, and disproportionately large heads.
They are not made of metal or stone, but of wood and cloth and resin, and therefore must be replaced from time to time, leading to rituals in which the enshrined deities fall sick, die and are reborn.
The story goes that when the image was being carved, the artisan had asked the patron king not to open the door until the work on the idols was completed. But the impatient king did open the door of the workshop, as he did not hear sounds of the wood being carved and polished. Thus, the idol were left incomplete.
During the festival, the deities are decorated with over 208 kg gold to complete their remaining limbs.
Krishna, Balabhadra, Subhadra decorated at Jagannath Temple, Puri. (Img: YouTube)
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. This is called Snana Purnima.
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.
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 three chariots of the deities at Jagannath, Puri.
So Krishna steps on his grand chariot and makes his way there. This is the start of the famous nine-day Jagannath Rath Yatra (this year it begins on 4th July), whose gigantic chariots inspired the British to coin the word "juggernaut".
The chariots of the deities are newly built every year. Jagannath's chariot is called Nandighosa, the chariot of Balabhadra is called Taladhwaja and that of Subhadra is called Dwarpadalana.
The total number of wheels on Lord Jagannath's chariot are 16, Lord Balabhadra's chariot are 14 and Subhadra's chariot are 12.
The Ratha Yatra is a symbolic journey of Krishna back to his childhood, hence taken along with siblings, not wife Lakshmi, who is left behind in the main temple, much to the latter's irritation, which is enacted out ritually by priests (and maharis or temple dancers, in the days of yore), to evoke the feeling that even the great Jagannath has marital problems just like the guy next door.
Maharis or temple dancers at the gate of the Jagannath Temple, Odisha.
The temple food or mahaprasad, known locally as abhada, is pretty famous too -- just like the Puri temple is famous for its kitchen.
Large pots of food are placed on top of each other and cooked with wood fire and steam, starting from the top layer.
The adorable part is that the food is made available to every person through the little buzzing market adjacent to the temple, called Anand Bazaar.
Food being cooked on a regular day at the temple's enormous kitchen.
Served on a banana leaf and eaten sitting on the floor, the meal consists of khichdi, dal, vegetables, and a sweet ending that is most cherished. Odisha's famous sweet dishes such as chhena-poda pitha (the most widely loved), baked rasgulla and with nolen-gud kheer (date-palm jaggery porridge).
