About Jagannath Puri
Temple
Puri, one of the most sacred pilgrimage in India, is one of the four
'Dhamas' of the Hindu religion. The city is home to the world-famous
Jagganath temple. The temple enshrines Krishna-Jagannath in the form of a
wooden image along with shrines of Balabhadra and Subhadra (brother and
sister of Krishna respectively).
The History
The original image of Jagannath was said to be found at the foot of a fig
tree, as an Indranila (Blue Jewel). Lord Vishnu ordered King Indradyumna to
dig out this image and search for a floating log on the Puri seashore to
carve out images from its trunk. The King discovered the log and then came
lord Vishnu and Vishwakarma in the form of artists to prepare images of
Krishna, Balarama and Subhadra. The temple got constructed in 12th century
by King Ananta Varman Chodaganga and has a lovely architect design which
depicts the traditional Orissan style of architecture.
The Rath Yatra or The Chariot Festival
The
world famous Rath Yatra is related to the Jagannath temple and occurs
annually in June-July. During this festival, the three deities are taken
from the temple and placed in large decorated chariots which are then drawn
along the Grand Road to the Gundecha temple, a few kilometers away. After
they have stayed in that temple for seven days, the deities again ride the
chariots back to their home temple.
The Architecture
Construction of the temple was started by Ananta Varman Chodaganga during
12th century A.D. and was completed by Ananga Bhima Dev. This vast temple
complex occupies an area of over 400000 square feet, and is bounded by a 20
feet high wall. This compound contains about 120 shrines. The top of the
Jagannath temple towers to a height of 192 feet. This temple stands on an
elevated platform of stone, which measures about 10 acres and is located in
the heart of the town. The temple has four halls, outermost being the
Bhogmandir, hall for having food. Next one is the Nata-mandir, a hall for
music and dance. The next is the Jagamohana, the gathering hall for devotees
and the last one is the Deul, enshrining the deities. The temple has four
gates at the eastern, southern, western and northern midpoints of the
Meghanad Prachir (the outer enclosure) and are called Lions gate, Horse
Gate, Tiger Gate and the Elephant Gate respectively. The architecture of the
temple follows the pattern of many Orissan temples of the classical period.
This temple has the world's largest kitchen and feeds thousands of devotees
every day. The kitchen prepares food for 100,000 people on a festival day
and for about 25,000 on a normal day.
Tourist Information
Entry of NON-HINDU is prohibited in the temple. This is strictly followed.
Visiting Hours: The temple gets open at 5am and is open till
midnight. At 1 in noon the gates are closed for half an hour.
Entry Fee: Nil.
When to visit: The best time to see the temple is during the
Rath-Yatra. Else one can visit Puri during Oct.-April.
Other Attractions near the Jagannath Puri Temple
Puri is a famous tourist spot. One can visit the Gundicha temple,
Indradyumna tank, Siddha Hanuman temple nearby. Also in the vicinity is the
Nandankanan Tiger safari and the famous Konark temple.
Getting There
Air: Puri can be reached by air as its nearest airport is in
Bhubaneswar, 56 km away. Regular buses and trains service is available from
Bhubaneswar to Puri.
Rail: Puri railway station is a major railway station and is well
connected with almost all the major cities of India.
Road: Puri is connected with Bhubaneshwar, Konark, Berhampur,
Taptapani, Sambalpur and Kolkata by road.
Accommodation
One can pick from a range of luxury and budget hotels in Puri. Besides,
star categorized hotels around the in Puri offer excellent view of the
landmarks through their suites. Most of the places to stay in Puri are
located in the pilgrim centers or near the railway station.
