The Jagannath Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Jagannath, a form of Vishnu in Hinduism and two of his siblings, Balaram and Subhadra, alongside Sudarshan (the deified form of Vishnu’s primary weapon). It is located in Puri in the state of Odisha, situated on the eastern coast of India. As per temple records, King Indradyumna of Avanti built the main temple of Jagannath at Puri.[2] The present temple was rebuilt from the eleventh century onwards, on the site of the pre-existing temples in the compound, but not the main Jagannath temple, and begun by Anantavarman Chodaganga, the first king of the Eastern Ganga dynasty. The temple is famous for its annual Ratha Yatra, or chariot festival to honor the three gods, in which the three principal deities are pulled on huge and elaborately decorated raths, or temple cars. The worship is performed by the Bhil Sabar tribal priests, as well as priests of other communities in the temple. Unlike the stone and metal icons found in most Hindu temples, the image of Jagannath is made of spruce wood, and is ceremoniously replaced every 12 or 19 years by an exact replica.[6] The temple is one of the Char Dham pilgrimage sites. It is also famous because many legends believe that Krishna’s heart was placed here, and the material that it is made from damages the heart, so they have to change it every seven years.

ENTRY AND DARSHAN

 The temple is open everyday from 5.00 am to 10.30pm. Non-Hindus (excluding Jains, Sikhs, Buddhists) and foreigners are not permitted to enter the temple.[31][32] Such a rule is believed to have existed since the temple was built, and at present, it often becomes a subject to controversy and debates that have lasted for several decades. According to Ganeshi Lal, the former Governor of Odisha, foreigners can enter the temple only if he/she can meet the Gajapati servitors and the Shankaracharya, then he/she could also be allowed to witness Jagannath. But, this theory has not wielded influence yet, and continues to be a subject of longstanding debate.

Nila Chakra

The Nila Chakra (lit. blue discus) is the discus mounted on the top of the shikhara of the Jagannath temple. As per custom, everyday a different flag is waved on the Nila Chakra. The flag hoisted on the Nila Chakra is called the Patita Pavana (lit. “Purifier of the Fallen”), and is equivalent to the image of the deities placed in the sanctum sanctorum.

The Nila Chakra is a disc with eight Navagunjaras carved on the outer circumference, with all facing towards the flagpost above. It is made up of Ashtadhatu and is 3.5 metres (11 ft) high, with a circumference of about 11 metres (36 ft).

STRUCTURE

The temple complex covers an area of over 37,000 square metres (400,000 sq ft), and is surrounded by high fortified wall. This 6.1 metres (20 ft)-high wall is known as Meghanada Pacheri.[49] Another wall known as kurma bedha surrounds the main temple.[50] It contains at least 120 temples and shrines. With its sculptural richness and fluidity of the Kalinga architecture, it is one of the most magnificent temples of India.[51] The temple has four distinct sectional structures, namely–Deula, Vimana or Garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum), where the triad deities are lodged on the ratnavedi, or throne of pearls. In Rekha Deula style, there is the Mukhashala, (frontal porch), the Natamandapa, also known as the Jagamohan (audience/dancing hall), and the Bhogamandapa (offerings hall).[52] The main temple is a curvilinear temple, and crowning the top is the Neelachakra, an eight-spoked wheel of Vishnu. It is made out of Ashtadhatu, an alloy of eight metals, and is considered sacrosanct.[53] Among the existing temples in Odisha, the temple of Lord Jagannath is the highest. The temple tower was built on a raised platform of stone, rising to a height 65 metres (214 ft), above the inner sanctum where the deities reside, dominates the surrounding landscape.

The Singhadwara

The Singhadwara, which in Sanskrit means “The Lion Gate”, is one of the four gates to the temple, and forms the main entrance. The Singhadwara is so named because of two huge statues of crouching lions existing on either side of the entrance. The gate faces eastward, opening on to the Bada Danda or the “Grand Road”. The Baisi Pahacha, or the flight of twenty-two steps, leads into the temple complex. A deity of Jagannath known as Patita Pavana, which in Sanskrit means the “saviour of the downtrodden and the fallen”, is painted on the right side of the entrance. In ancient times, when untouchables were not allowed inside the temple, they could pray to the Patita Pavana. The statues of the two guards to the temple, Jaya and Vijaya, stand on either side of the doorway. Just before the commencement of the Ratha Yatra, the deities of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra are taken out of the temple through this gate. On their return from the Gundicha Temple, they have to ceremonially placate Goddess Lakshmi, whose deity is carved atop the door, for neglecting to take her with them on the Yatra. Only then, the goddess allows them permission to enter the temple. A magnificent sixteen-sided monolithic pillar, known as the Aruna Stambha, stands in front of the main gate. This pillar has an idol of Aruna, the charioteer of the sun god, Surya, on its top. One notable fact about the Aruna Stambha is that prior to its current location, it was located in the Konark Sun Temple. Later, the Maratha guru, Brahmachari Gosain, brought this pillar from Konark

Other entrances

Apart from the Singhadwara, which is the main entrance to the temple, there are three other entrances facing north, south and west. They are named after the sculptures of animals guarding them. The other entrances are the Hathidwara or the Elephant Gate, the Vyaghradwara or the Tiger Gate and the Ashwadwara or the Horse Gate.

Minor temples

There are about thirty smaller temples and shrines within the Temple complex where active worship is regularly conducted. There are some temples are considered significant and generally visited before the main temple of Jagannath:. the Ganesha temple near the kalpavata banyan tree, Vimala Temple, Nilamadhaba temple, Gopalaballava temple and Lakshmi temple.

The Vimala Temple (Bimala Temple) is considered one of the most important of the Shaktipeeths It is located near Rohini Kund in the temple complex. Until food offered to Jagannath is offered to goddess Vimala it is not considered Mahaprasad. The temple of Lakshmi, the consort of Jagannath, has an important role in rituals of the main temple.

There are other shrines dedicated to Kanchi Ganesha, Shiva, Surya, Saraswati, Bhuvaneshwari, Narasimha, Rama, Hanuman.