Toshali Sands

History of Lord Jagannath Temple

The sacred Temple of Lord Jagannath stands on the hillock “Blue Mountain” in the heart of Puri. It represents a lovely picturesque scheme of great Orissan Architecture. The main Temple, a majestic structure of 65 meters or 214 feet 8 inch high, stands on an elevated platform in the hear of the city. It swirling pinnacle commanding the landscape for miles around. It’s a monument of the 12th Century A.D. with all the richness and plasticity of the Kalingan style of architecture known as “Sikhara’, which is mainly predominant in Eastern India. Apart from the main Temple on can see within its precincts a host of other smaller Temples including Goddess Bimala. Lakshmi and Vishnu and Ananda Bazaar, the bigget food market of the world. The rituals of the Temple are so comprehensive that they encompass the essence of all religions of the world. But entry is restricted to Hindus only.

Legends, Myths and History of the Temple
The Temple of Lord Jagnnath has gone through centuries of myths, legends and history. Though the cult of Lord Jagnnath itself is an essentially Post - Aryan Phenomenon, the origins of Jagnnath go back several centuries. Earlier, the Presiding Diety of Puri as well as Orissa was worshipped as a primordial God, named Kitung. According to “Skanda Purana’ and ‘Brahma Purana’, Biswabasu - the local sabara chief worshipped “Kitung” as the God. Originally the deity was in the form of “Lord Krishna’s image” made of granite stone. The present day “Daru Murty” (wooden image) came much later. At that time the sabaras for worshipping of the Lord established an ashram named “Sabra Deepak”. One Lord Nilamadhaba (formerly worshipped as Kitung) appeared in a dream of the legendary king of Malawa, Indradyumna and told him to bring back the Lord to “Malawa”. Then the King sent “Bidyapati” to trace out the God. At Nilachal, Bidyapati met Biswabasu and motivated him to come to Malawa. And Biswabasu played the perfect host to Bidyapati. When Bisswabasu heard about the construction of the Temple by King Indradyumna for the Lord, he informed Bidyapati about the real tact. The fact was that when the king would come to see the Lord. He would vanish and golden sands would cover the temple.

When both of them set out to invade Utkal, they were told by a divine voice (sunyabani) that Nilamadhaba has disappeared and sands covered the Temple. Following this, Indradyumna had another dream that the Lord would appear in the form of a long at Banki Muhana Sea Shore. The Idols of Lord Jagnnath and others were made out of that long a placed in a small Temple. The present one came up one time in 12th century.

The present Temple of Lord Jagnnath was constructed by the Ganga Emperor Chodaganga Dev (1078-1147 A.D.) of Ganga dynasty. A stone inscription during the reign of Emperor Chodaganga Dev has been discovered in the Nursingha Temple within the compound of Lord Jagannath Temple within which one can get to know many facts about the temple is history behind it. It may be mentioned that Jagannath as a deity being worshipped has been referred to by Raja Indrabhuti of Sambal, who flourished in the 8th century A.D.

The Jagannath Trinity as known from the Sculptural representation on the walls of the Sub Temple of Konark. It was regarded s the synthesis of Purusottama, Shiva and Durga during the Ganga Period. It was at the time of the rule of Bhanu Deva II the Purusottam was regarded as Jagannath by the Ganga rulers and the name become popular after Kapilendra Gajapati in 1435 A. D. Madalapanji records that the early Temple of Lord Jagannath was constructed by Jajati Keshari who recovered the image of Jagannath from Sonepur, where the deities were concealed sine the time of Raktababu’s invasion. Any epigraphically recorded or other authentic evidence so far discovered does not corroborate this story.

The images of Puri Temple were taken away to an Island in Chilika lake before Sultan Firoze Shah Tughluq tried to defile them in the mid of the 15th century. It was during the solar dynasty that Jagannath was worshiped as the great Deity in India.

General improvement not only to the Temple complex of Lord Jagannath but the rituals was added and a vast mass of Vaishnavaite literature was produced. Eminent writers and poets like Sarala Das, Jagannath Das, Balaram Das, Acthyunanda Das propagated the cult of Jagannath. After the visit of Shri Chitanaya in A.D. 1501 this cult of devotional love predominated in Orissan religious life and literature.

Orissa came under the Muslims in 1586, after which profound changes took place in the social and religious life of the Oriya People, the impact of which fell on the worship of Lord Jagannath. Under the Maratha Rule, Orissa breathed no peace, but the institution of Jagannath flourished, because of the patronage and religious zeal of the Maratha nobles. Not only architectural additions were made by way construction of “Meghananda Pachery of 20 feet height but an all-round architectural and religious development was made in this sacred Temple. Brahmachari Gosain, a Maratha Saint who had political influence got the dilapidated Temple of Jagnnath decorated with these relics. The famous work of this Saint was the removal of one Aruna Pillar from Konark to the Singhadwar of Puri Temple where it is found today.

At present the worship of Lord Jagannath is being managed efficiently and systematically with regard to the religious traditions conducted with the Temple of Lord Jagannath. The Archeological Survey of Inda has taken up the conservatins of these magnificent architecture of Lord Purusottama. The peeling off the lime plaster has revealed beautiful sculpture on the walls of the Jagannath Temple and the Laxmi Temple. The Cultural Affairs Department, Orissa has been taking keen interest in the improvement of a running garden round the Temple and archeological conservation of the sacred monument - a treasure of Indian architecture.

IN-AND-AROUND JAGANNATH TEMPLE
“Aruna Stamba” which is considered to be the pride of the Lord Jagannath Temple stands elegantly in front of the main Temple. Built on a raised platform, it gives the Tourists an imposing impression as one first comes within the sight of the Temple. This 33 feet 8 inch Monument has religious importance as well as architectural significance.

A host of Temples of beautiful artifacts within the premises of main temple can interest the visitors of any kind. The main Temple is divided into four parts: Pidha or Pitha, Bada, Gandi (lower part) and Mastak (head).

Within the Temple, Ratna Singhasana is enshrined with four Idols of Lords Jagannath, Balabhadra, Devi Subhdara and Chakraraj Sudarshan along with metal made Bhudevi and Sridevi. The Representative Idol of Lord Jagnnath named Madan Mohan is worshipped in the South side of Temple upon Mukti Mandap and in front of the Nursingha Temple. Besides, in and around the Lord Jagannath Temple Bedha (Boundary) houes the Lords Patitapaban, mahavir near Singhadwar and Lrod viswanath of the starting point of Baisi Pahacha (22 steps). According to belief, all sins of the pilgrims disappear who touch these steps even once.

The inner portion of the Temple is also enshrined with Idols of Lords Agnidev, Satyanaryan, Radhakrishna, Harisahadev, Jagannath, Ganesh, Kalpabata, Mangala, Markandeya, Kanchiganesh, in the western side Ananta Basudeva, Nursingh, Bimala, Gopinath, Kamala, Savitri, Sasthi, Saraswati, Nilamadhaba, Kali, Mahalakshmi, Nabagraha, Suryadev, Ram, Sita, Pataleswar, in the North side Sitala, It is.