Jagannath Temple Puri 2024 | Things to do in Jagannath Temple Puri in 2024 | Jagannath Temple Puri Travel Guide 2024 | Timing | Entry Fees | History | Aarti | Darshan
Jagannath Temple History
Puri is a coastal city in the state of Odisha located in the eastern part of India. This city is the biggest centre of faith of people belonging to all Hindu religion living in India and the world. Lord Krishna is the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
In Hinduism, Lord Vishnu is considered the lord of the entire universe and a statue of Lord Shri Krishna, the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu is installed in the Sri Jagannath temple. Being the eighth avatar of Lord Vishnu, the idol of Lord Krishna installed in the temple is called Jagannath.
In common language, Jagannath means the lord of the whole world. Deities of his elder brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra along with Lord Sri Jagannath have been installed in the home of Shri Jagannath Temple. Sri Jagannath Temple located in Puri is an ancient temple dedicated to Lord Shri Krishna.
The construction of Jagannath Temple in Puri was started by Anantavarman Chodagung Dev, the ruler of Ganga dynasty and Maharaja of Kalinga. The Jagmohan and the Vimanbhag located in the temple complex were constructed during the reign of King Anantavarman during 1078-1148.
After King Anantavarman, the ruler of Odisha, Anang Bhim Dev, completed the construction work of Sri Jagannath Temple around 1197. The Sri Jagannath temple was worshipped till 1558, after which the foreign invader General Kala Pahar from Afghanistan started breaking and dismantling the temples located in Odisha.
The priests of the Sri Jagannath temple were holed up on an island in the Chilika lake located near Puri to save the Deities of God. Shortly after the Afghan invasion, King Ramchandra Deb again established his independent rule in the region.
Sri Jagannath Temple was restored during the reign of King Ramachandra Deb and the worship of Shri Jagannathji was resumed in the temple. Kedarnath, Badrinath, Rameswaram and Sri Jagannathpuri temple visit to these four shrines is called Chardham Yatra in Hinduism. It is believed that man gets salvation by travelling to these four pilgrimage sites.
Story of Shri Jagannath
There are many stories related to the Deity of Lord Jagannath in the temple of Shri Jagannath. Some stories are more popular among the common people and apart from this, some archaeologists also keep their opinion about the Deity of Lord Jagannath.
It is believed that Lord Sri Krishna’s heart is placed in the temple of Lord Jagannathji located in the temple, which acts like a very big energy source. Some people believe that the Deity of Lord Jagannath is made from a special type of wood for this reason. So that with the help of wood, the energy of Lord Krishna’s heart can be controlled.
In the Sri Jagannath temple, many different interesting stories about Lord Jagannath’s Deity can be heard by the local residents.
01. Story of Shri Jagannath
According to local residents, the original Deity of Lord Jagannath was made of sapphire. The light of this sapphire was so sharp that religion hid this idol in the earth’s home. After some time, the ruler of Malwa, Indradyumna had a vision of his dream Lord Jagannath made of sapphire. King Indradyumna meditated on Lord Vishnu after this dream.
Pleased with penance, Lord Vishnu told King Indradyumna that he would find a big wooden log on the banks of the sea near the Puri. Get that idol constructed with that wooden log. King Indradyumna then proceeded towards Puri’s beach. On reaching Puri, they find a log of wood at the edge of the sea.
When King Indradyumna comes with a log of wood, Lord Vishnu and Vishwakarma Ji disguise as carpenter and sculptor and present to the king. Lord Vishnu and Vishwakarma Ji tell the king that it will take 1 month to make an idol of Jagannath Ji and no one will enter his room till he makes the idol. As time passes, the king’s curiosity increases.
Due to this eagerness, in the last days of the month of the month, the room in which Lord Vishnu and Vishwakarma Ji are carpenters and sculptors are making idols. The king peeks into that room. As soon as the king peeks into the room, Lord Vishnu and Vishwakarma, who are carpenters and sculptors, tell the king that the idols are yet to be made.
But now when the king has peeped into the room, now the idols will be installed without any hands. When the king is very sad due to his mistake, Lord Vishnu tells the king that no one can change destiny. After that time the idols of Lord Jagannath and his elder brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra were established in Puri.
02. Story of Shri Jagannath
Another mythological legend associated with the Deity of Lord Sri Jagannath, his elder brother Balabhadra and younger sister Subhadra, established in the Jagannath temple located in Puri, is very prevalent in the Charan tradition.
According to the Charan tradition, when Lord Sri Krishna, his elder brother Balarama and younger sister Subhadra sacrificed their earthly bodies on the beach of Prachi. When Lord Krishna and his siblings were being cremated, a huge wave of the sea carried the bodies of these three with them.
Not long after, the dead bodies of Lord Krishna, Balarama and Subhadra were found on the banks of Puri beach. At that time, the then king of Puri had all three bodies honourably pulled by the local people in different chariots.
After that, the three wooden bodies on which the bodies of the three bodies flowed into the sea were cremated on those wooden logs. It is said that lakhs of devotees pull the chariots of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra at the time of the entire Rath Yatra, following this tradition.
Very few people are aware of this mythical fact, most of the people believe that Lord Krishna, Balabhadra and Subhadra came to the city alive.
Note: – If there is an error in the mythology associated with the temple of Lord Jagannath, then I have already apologized for it.
03. Story Of Shri Jagannath
Some historians who have researched the Sri Jagannath temple believe that the place where the Sri Jagannath Temple is built today used to be a Buddhist stupa. In this Buddhist stupa, one tooth of Lord Gautama Buddha was preserved.
After some time the tooth of Lord Gautama Buddha was transferred from this place to the city of Kandy located in Sri Lanka. After some time the number of people who believed in Vaishnavism in addition to Buddhism in this place increased very rapidly, due to which the reputation of Lord Shri Jagannath temple was greatly increased.
04. Story of Shri Jagannath
According to the historical facts of medieval India, Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab had a deep faith in Lord Jagannath. It is said that due to his deep faith, Maharaja Ranjit Singh donated a huge amount of gold to the Shri Jagannath Temple during his reign.
It is believed that the weight of gold donated in Shri Jagannathji temple was more than the gold donated to the Golden Temple of Amritsar. Maharaja Ranjit Singh wrote in his will that the Kohinoor diamond kept with him was donated to Shri Jagannath Temple.
But only after some time, the British had taken over Punjab. And had captured all the wealth of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the Kohinoor diamond. If the British did not take possession of the property and Kohinoor diamond of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, then today Kohinoor diamond would have adorned Shri Jagannath temple.
Architecture of Jagannath Temple Puri
A special type of wood sculpture of Lord Sri Jagannath, his elder brother Balabhadra and younger sister Subhadra, is set on a stone platform in the home of Sri Jagannath Temple. These three idols are believed to have been worshipped by local tribesmen long before the temple was built.
The Sri Jagannath temple was constructed according to the Kalinga architecture prevalent at that time. The temple complex is spread over a total of 4,00,000 sqft and a high boundary wall has been built around the temple complex for the safety of the temple.
During the architecture and construction of the main temple of Lord Shri Jagannath, many wonderful experiments were done. For this reason, even today, archaeologists continue to study deeply on the architecture of the temple.
The main building of Lord Shri Jagannath’s temple is curved. The other temples in front of the main temple building are pyramidal in shape and are much shorter in height than the main temple. Sudarshan Chakra built of Ashtadhatu of Lord Vishnu is installed on the top part of the main temple.
The height of the main temple is 214 feet from the ground. Deities of Lord Shri Jagannath, his elder brother Balabhadra and younger sister Subhadra have been installed in the home of the main temple. A very high wall is built around the temple complex and after entering the temple complex, a 20 feet high wall has also been constructed enclosing the main temple building.
Jagannath Rath Yatra – Jagannath Puri
The biggest and main festival of Shri Jagannath Temple is the Rath Yatra to be held on the day “Aasadh Shukla Paksha Dwitiya” in the months of June and July. During the rath yatra, Lord Shri Jagannath goes to his grandmother’s house with his brother and sister and returns to the temple on a ninth day.
During the Rath Yatra, lakhs of devotees come to Jagannath Puri to participate in the Rath Yatra. The idols of Lord Shri Jagannath, his elder brother Balabhadra and younger sister Subhadra are installed in different huge chariots made of wood for the Rath Yatra.
These huge chariots made of wood are pulled by devotees. Apart from Rath Yatra, all the major festivals celebrated in Hinduism are celebrated with great pomp.
Jagannath Temple – Puri Jagannath
At present, lakhs of devotees and tourists flock to Shri Jagannath Temple throughout the year to visit Lord Shri Jagannath. The temple administration also spends some part of the offerings to the Shri Jagannath temple for social work. The kitchen made in the temple of Lord Shri Jagannath is one of the largest cooks in India.
It is said that a total of 800 artisans work in the kitchen to make Mahaprasad for Lord Jagannath. These 800 artisans have 500 cooks and 300 associates all together prepare Mahaprasad for Lord Shri Jagannath. From time to time, the invaders of Lord Jagannath’s temple have attacked and looted the temple. Also, efforts have been made to damage the temple as well.
Due to this, people of non-Hindu religion are completely denied entry into the temple. People belonging to Hinduism or other religions like Jain, Buddhist and Sikhism can enter the temple. There are some parts of the temple in which the entry of devotees of all religions is completely forbidden.
Presently, there is a lot of faith in Lord Jagannath in other countries of the world, due to this, people of other religions in the world have adopted Hindu religion to pay their respects to Lord Shri Jagannath.
Jagannath Temple Aarti Timings
| S.No | AARTI NAME | AARTI TIMING |
| 01 | Mangal Aarti | 05:00 AM |
| 02 | Beshalagi | 08:00 AM |
| 03 | Sakala Dhupa | 10:00 AM |
| 04 | Mailam & Bhoga Mandap | After Sakala Dhupa Aarti |
| 05 | Madhyanha Dhupa | 11:00 AM To 01:00 PM |
| 06 | Sandhaya Dhupa | 07:00 PM TO 08:00 PM |
| 07 | Mailam & Chandana Lagi | After Sandhya Dhupa Aarti |
| 08 | Badashringara Bhoga | After Mailam & Chandana Lagi |
Note: – The time of Aarti and Darshan can change according to the weather in Shri Jagannath temple.
Shri Jagannath Temple Entry Fee
Entry Free.
Shri Jagannath Temple Timings
Any time of the day.
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