Jagannath Temple

Jagannath Temple

The Jagannath Temple (Odia: ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ ମନ୍ଦିର) of Puri is a sacred Vaishnava temple dedicated to Lord Jagannath (Odia: ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ)and located on the eastern coast of India, at Puri in the state of Odisha.

The temple is an important pilgrimage destination and is particularly visited by devotees of Supreme lord Sri Krishna and is one of the Char Dham pilgrimages that anyone is expected to make in one's lifetime.

The Jagannath temple was built in the 12th century during the era of the Eastern Ganga dynasty's King Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva, a dynasty known for also building the Sun temple of Konark and several major Shaivism temples.

The temple is famous for its annual Rath Yatra, or chariot festival, in which the three main temple deities are hauled on huge and elaborately decorated temple cars. Since medieval times, it is also associated with intense religious fervour. Even though the icons of most Hindu deities that are worshiped are made out of stone or metal, the image of Jagannath is wooden. Every twelve or nineteen years these wooden figures are ceremoniously replaced by using sacred trees, that have to be carved as an exact replica.