Sri Jagannath

हर त्वम् सम्सारम् द्रुत तरम् असारम् सुरपते । हर त्वम् पापानाम् विततिम् अपराम् यादवपते ॥

अहो दीने नाथे निहित चरणो निश्चिताम् इदम् । जगन्नाथ्: स्वामी नयन पथ गामीभवतु मे ॥

hara tvam samsAram druta taram asAram surapte |

Hara tvam pApAnAm vitatim aparAm yAdavapate||

aho dIne nAthe nihita caraNo nishcitAm idam |

jagannAthaH svAmI nayana patha gAmIbhavatu me ||

O Lord of the demigods, please quickly remove this useless material existence I am undergoing. O Lord of the Yadus, please destroy this vast, shoreless ocean of sins. Alas, it is certain that Lord Jagannatha bestows His lotus feet upon those who feel themselves fallen and have no shelter in this world but Him. May that Jagannatha Svami be the object of my vision.

Manifestation

Jagannath means, Jagat (universe) and Nath (the Lord) - Lord of the universe. Puri, Odisha, India is the abode of Lord Jagannath.


Physical Attributes

  • Lord Jagannath is worshipped largely as triad (Lord Jagannath, elder brother Lord Balabhadra or Balarama and younger sister Devi Subhadra in the middle), emphasizing a family structure. On the left side of Lord Jagannath is Lord Sudershan.
  • These four deities are known as Chaturdha Murty.
  • Unlike most of the deities which are built from stone, the triad are built from wood and especially wood from selected Neem tree. All these deities don’t have hands and legs.
  • Faces are large and square with large eyes without eyelids. It symbolizes that the Lord is watching and protecting the devotees all the time.
  • The place that the deities sit is called Ratna Simhasan (jeweled throne). In some temples in India, Lord Jagannath is worshipped alone (Dadhibamana) and in some places, Lord Jagannath is worshipped as Patitapabana (Lord of the poor and downtrodden) only represented as the head of Lord Jagannath. He has conch and chakra symbols on the two hands.
  • In our temple, the murtis are worshipped on the throne.
  • Lord Jagannath likes to dress well. There are 32 beshas (decorations) of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra used on different special occasions during the year. Some of the more popular beshas in many of the Jagannath temple in USA are Hati Besha, Suna besha and Padma Besha.


Qualities

  • Love
  • Compassion
  • Devotion
  • Cosmic energy
  • Subhadra: shakti/energy
  • Balabhadra: gyan/knowledge


Ways of Worship and Types of Devotees

  • Daily rituals of Lord Jagannath at the Puri Temple is elaborate. There are 23 step rituals. It starts at 3:00 am in the morning and ends at midnight. These include opening of the sanctum door, doing aarati, changing the dress, brushing up of teeth, dressing up etc. During the entire time, food is served six times.
  • At HSMN, Jagannath puja is done on the second Sunday of the month with daily prasad served during lunch.


Avatar of/Related to

He is considered a representation of Vishnu or Krishna. Goddess Lakshmi is the concert of Lord Jagannath.


Regions most worshiped

Puri (Odisha, India) celebrates 13 special festivals in 12 months. The most important and widely attended festival is the Car Festival (Festival of Chariots). It is celebrated in the month of Ashadha (July) on the second day of the Shukla pakshya. Three chariots are built every year with fresh wood. One chariot (Nandighosh, 45 ft 6 in high with 16 wheels) carries Lord Jagannath. Lord Balabhadra goes in chariot named Taladhwaja (45 ft high and 14 wheels and 6ft. 6 in. in dia) and Devi Subhadra goes in the chariot named Debadalan (44 ft6 in high and 12 wheels each measuring 6 ft. 9 in. in dia). Lord Sudershan goes in Debadalan along with Devi Subhadra. These chariots are pulled by more than one million devotees in Puri.


Well-Known Stories

Jagannath is God humanized. Like human beings, he gets up in the morning, goes through the daily rituals. He gets sick and gets cured by herbs and roots. Death brings the end of human life. Every 8 to 19 years, when there are two months of Ashadha, the life of the Lord Jagannath comes to an end. In Puri, he gets buried along with his family at Koili Baikuntha. The excursion starts to find very specific Neem tree for the construction of new deities. Special consecration ceremony is done to infuse new life into the deities. The life process repeats. This process is called Nabakalebar (Naba-new and Kalebar-Body). In our temple, Nabakalebar ceremony was done in 2015.


Fascinating Facts

  • Srila Prabhupad, the founder of ISKCON (International Society of Krishna Consciousness) brought Lord Jagannath and Ratha Yatra to USA in 1967. Note that the first Hindu temple in USA was built in Flushing, New York in 1981. Lord Jagannath came to a Hindu temple in Nashville in 1981. Now, there are about 30 temples in USA with Lord Jagannath. Ratha Yatra has been celebrated in more than ten countries in the world.
  • In certain regions also worshiped as a form/manifestation of Buddha.


Other Popular Names

  • Kalia
  • Chakadola
  • Darubrahma
  • Mahaprabhu
  • Kala Thakura
  • Chaka akhi
  • Debadhideba
  • Niladribihari
  • Padmalochan
  • Purushottama


Popular/Well-known Prayers

Prayers:

  • Jagannathastakam
  • Purusha Sukta
  • Shrisuktam
  • Narayana Sukta
  • Ahe Neela shaila** (Odia)
  • Dinabandhu Daitari** (Odia)
  • 7. Dashabatar
  • 8. Badhila Jani kshyama** (Odia)

Puranas:

  • Skanda Puarana (Utkala Khanda)
  • Brahmanda Purana
  • Garuda Purana
  • Narada Purana
  • Kalika Purana
  • Out of these Puranas, Skanda Purana (Utkala Khanda) talks about the origin and glory of Lord Jagannath.