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Jagannath: the Lord of the Universe at Puri
जगन्नाथ
Jagannath, "Lord of the Universe", is the deity of the great temple at Puri in Odisha, worshipped with his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra. Most Vaishnavas see him as a form of Krishna; in Odisha's own tradition he is the supreme god from whom all avatars come. He looks like no other Hindu deity: a carved and painted neem log with a flat head and two huge round eyes. Once a year he leaves his temple on a chariot pulled by crowds, the procession that gave English the word "juggernaut".
Story
The images are carved anew from a neem log in a year with an extra Ashadha month, every 8, 12 or 19 years, in secret. The English word “juggernaut” comes from the chariot of this god, pulled by thousands.
Family and companions
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Festivals
✅ How to recognise the three
In Puri and most of his temples Jagannath stands with his siblings and a fourth, pillar-like figure.
- Jagannath — Dark face, a flat head, and two large round lidless eyes, read as the sun and the moon. No neck, ears or legs; in some temples two short stumps reach forward as arms.
- Balabhadra — His elder brother, Balarama: a white face with almond-shaped eyes and a rounded head.
- Subhadra — Their sister, smaller and yellow, standing between them.
- Sudarshana — Vishnu's discus, shown here not as a wheel but as a red wooden pillar about as tall as Balabhadra.
- Wood — All four are carved from neem, which the Bhavishya Purana calls the most auspicious wood for images of Vishnu, and repainted every week.
The legend and the Nabakalebara
The temple's legend is told in the Skanda Purana. King Indradyumna hears of an image of Nilamadhava worshipped in secret by Vishvavasu, chief of the Savara people, and sends the priest Vidyapati to find it; by the time the king comes, a storm has buried it in sand. Guided by a dream, he has a great log that floats in from the sea carved into the three images.
Scholars read in the tradition a meeting of several streams. The wooden image and the Daitas, hereditary servitors traced to the Savara tribe who still guide the carving of new images, point to tribal roots; Vaishnava, Shaiva and Shakta readings all claim him. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who spent his last years in Puri, tied Jagannath firmly to [Krishna](/en/deities/krishna/) for Bengal, and ISKCON later carried his worship and his chariot festival to cities around the world.
The images do not last forever. In the Nabakalebara ("new body") ritual, new ones are carved from specially chosen neem trees and the old ones are buried within the temple grounds. The temple administration gives the interval as 8, 11, 12 or 19 years, depending on the lunar calendar; the last Nabakalebara was in 2015.
Worship and visiting Puri
Jagannath is worshipped with an unusual degree of intimacy: dressed as different avatars on festival days and, after his public bath on Snana Purnima, the full moon of Jyeshtha, kept out of sight for about two weeks as if he were ill. The food offered to him becomes Mahaprasad once it has also been offered to the goddess Vimala, and tradition holds that [Lakshmi](/en/deities/lakshmi/) herself supervises the temple kitchen. The mantra and greeting on this page, Jai Jagannath, "victory to Jagannath", is the one you will hear all over Odisha.
Before going: the temple administration states that only Hindus are allowed inside the Puri temple. Shoes, leather items, cameras and mobile phones are not allowed in; free shoe and phone stands are near the Lion's Gate.
Jagannath temples
Puri is the centre, but his temples stand across eastern India and far beyond.
Puri
The Shree Jagannatha temple, its tower about 65 m high, one of the finest examples of Kalinga architecture and one of the Char Dham pilgrimage sites. Non-Hindus cannot enter (see above). The Gundicha temple, about 3 km away, is where the chariots go.
Ahmedabad
The Jagannath temple in Ahmedabad holds its Rath Yatra on the same day as Puri's, one of the largest in India; elephants lead the procession.
Braj
In Vrindavan, Rath Yatra chariots roll to the Jagannath temple at Gyan Gudri, and ISKCON has its own ([Vrindavan festivals](/en/vrindavan/festivals/)). His brother Balabhadra is worshipped in Braj as Balarama, or Dauji, at the [Dauji temple in Baldeo](/en/mathura/dauji-temple-baldeo/).
Elsewhere
He is significant across Odisha, Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Assam, Manipur and Tripura, and ISKCON has installed Jagannath in many of its temples worldwide.
Festivals
[Rath Yatra](/en/festivals/rath-yatra/), on the second day of the bright half of Ashadha (June–July), is his great day. The three deities ride in three wooden chariots, newly built every year, down Puri's Bada Danda, the grand avenue, to the Gundicha temple, stay there about a week and are then brought back. Processions are held the same day at Jagannath temples elsewhere. Before it comes Snana Yatra, the bathing festival on the full moon of Jyeshtha, when the deities are brought out to the bathing platform in public view.
❓ FAQ
Who is Lord Jagannath?
The deity of the Puri temple in Odisha, worshipped with his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra. Most Vaishnavas regard him as a form of Krishna; in Odisha he is the supreme god.
Why is Krishna called Jagannath?
Jagannath means "Lord of the Universe" (jagat, universe; natha, lord). The name became tied to Krishna through the Puri tradition, and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's devotion made the link firm.
Why does Jagannath have no hands?
The image is an abstract form: a log with a face, lacking neck, ears and limbs, its round face read as without beginning or end. Some temples add two short forward-pointing arms.
Can non-Hindus enter the Jagannath temple in Puri?
No. The temple administration states that only Hindus are allowed inside. Everyone can see the deities during Rath Yatra, when they ride through the streets.
What is the Jagannath mantra?
The simplest and most common is Jai Jagannath, "victory to Jagannath", used both as a prayer and as a greeting in Odisha.