PURI of Orissa (India), is synonymous to Jagannath Temple. In fact the place is universally famous as Jagannatha Dhama after the 12th-century Jagannath Temple located in the city. It is one of the original Char Dham pilgrimage sites for Hindus. Puri is known by several names since the ancient times. Few among those are, Srikshetra, Purusottama Dhama, Purusottama Kshetra, Purusottama Puri and Jagannath Puri. Puri, however, is the popular usage. In Sanskrit, the word "Puri" means town or city, and is cognate with polis in Greek.

Jagannath Temple was built in the city of Puri by King Chodaganhadeva in 12th century. He also built the Sun temple of Konark. His grandson Ananga Bhimadeva completed the construction of the temple in 12th century. Puri and the Jagannath Temple were invaded about 18 times, from the 7th century AD till the early 19th century with the objective of looting the treasures of the dynasty and the temple.

Puri has been chosen as one of the heritage cities for Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) scheme of Government of India.

There are many facts, information and belief on Puri and the Lord jagannath Temple for which Puri is a renowned and sacred destination all over the world. Since the ancient era, so many things are said and believed about the place and the famous Temple.

It is said or believed or a true Fact may be

But DO YOU KNOW ?

Planes don’t fly over the temple : There are eight metal wheel known as the Nilachakra placed above the Jagannath Temple Puri. It is believed that this chakra creates obstacles in the communication of flying airplanes and hence the aeroplanes avoid flying over the temple. An alternative logic explains that Puri does not come under the air traffic routes of India, due to which planes, for obvious reasons, are not found flying over the temple.

The Temple Kitchen : Puri Jagannadh temple has the largest temple kitchen in the world. An amazing 56 types of mahaprasad (devotional food) are prepared there daily, in earthen pots over fire, for offering to Lord Jagannath.

Magical way of cooking Prasad : Exactly seven earthen pots are used as utensils mounted on each other and the offerings are cooked using firewood. Amazingly, the contents of the top pot get cooked first and then gradually the prasad of the bottom pot gets cooked.

The Prasad first is offered to Jagannadh and later re_offered to Bimala Goddess, and thereafter distributed as Maha-Prasad to devotees. The Bimala or Vimala temple, located within the Jagannadh temple complex in Puri, is one among the 108 Shakthi Peethas. There is a controversy regarding which body part of Sati fell here. Few say Feet of Sati fell here, and few believe devi Sati’s navel fell here.

The Food Is Never Wasted Here : Wasting food is considered a bad sign, and the temple follows this said tradition. The total number of people who visit the temple ranges thousand to lac. Phenomenally, the prasad prepared daily never goes in wasted.

Mystery of Sudarshan Chakra : The Sudarshan Chakra looks like it has been designed to look the same from every direction. It may be the architectural technique of the chakra, because wherever you look at this chakra you will see it the same way from everywhere. It is also said that the Chakra (wheel) above is about 20 feet high and weighs a ton, how it would have gotten there in that century without any machinery with human power.

Temple Flag Changes Everyday : The flag set on the top of the Jagannath temple is changed everyday. Interestingly, it is not changed by any professional climber but by a priest of the temple who climbs up to a height that is equal to that of a 45 storey building. This is a ritual which is being followed since years. It is believed that if this ritual is skipped even for a day then the temple will remain closed for the next 18 years.

The flag moves at the opposite direction of wind : It is believed that the top temple flag flutters in the opposite direction of the wind without any scientific reasoning.

Restrictions : The Jagannath temple follows many restrictions on regular days, including one that doesn’t allow anyone other than Hindus to visit the temple. However, on the day of the Rath Yatra, anyone can seek blessings of Lord Jagannath and catch a glimpse of his idol, irrespective of their caste and religion.

Nabakalebara : The three deities (Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra) are shaped hand carved usually every 12 – 19 years in a process known as Nabakalebara. This means "new body". The festival takes on added importance in the years that this happens.

The year of Nabakalebara is when the full moon occurs twice during the month of Ashadha. Every three years in the Hindu calendar, a lunar month is excluded from the calculation to maintain a balance between lunar and solar years. This period is called Adhikmasa or Malamasa. A year with an extra month)is considered auspicious for the ceremony, which typically occurs every twelve to nineteen years.

Rath Yatra, which is held annually in Puri, Odisha is touted as the oldest chariot procession in the world; it marks the journey of Lord Jagannath, along with Lord Balaram and Goddess Subhadra, from Puri’s Jagannath Temple to their aunt’s home–the Gundicha Mata Temple.

Before Rath Yatra God remains in seclusion for 14 days: On the occasion of Jyeshtha Purnima, Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Goddess Subhadra were bathed with 108 pots of water. This great occasion is called Sahastradhara Snan. But later, because of this snan, they all got ill and were treated with herbs, hence the ritual of seclusion. The doors of the temple remained closed to the devotees. On the 15th day Jagannath Ji, Balabhadra Ji, and Subhadra Ji gave their darshan.

Rainfall on the Ratha Yatra Day : It has been observed that the day of the Ratha Yatra festival is greeted by rainfall every year.

The Chariot (Ratha) : With ritual fire worship, the construction of the chariots starts on the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, the third day of the bright fortnight of Vaisakha. After the Ratha Yatra is over, the chariots are dismantled and the wood is used in the kitchen of the Jagannath Temple.

Lord Jagannath’s chariot Nandigosha moves on 16 wheels, Taladwaja, the chariot of Lord Balarama, is set on 14 wheels. And, Goddess Subhadra’s Padmadhwaja has 12 wheels. (Debadalana / Darpadalana)

The Jagannath Ratha is not the biggest chariot in the world. Tiruvarur temple car, is the largest (chariot) temple car in the world, weighs about 300 tonnes with a height of 90 feet (27.43 m).

Even the king is nothing but a mere servant of God – To symbolize this, before the commencement of the Ratha Yatra journey, the Gajapati (king) of Puri sweeps the floor with a golden broom which is considered to be a simple act of cleaning the lord’s path.

The English term ‘juggernaut’ means “a huge, powerful, and overwhelming force.” Drawing inspiration from the gigantic chariot of Lord Jagannath, the British coined this word when they encountered a massive chariot during one Rath Yatra festival.

In todays scenerio many among the said belief or traditions may have some science, logic or natural explanation behind, but do we really need to disturb those popular belief or can’t we simply appreciate the holiness of the Temple and the place.

|| Jai JAGANNATH ||