History Of Sri Jagannath Temple
The Jagannath Temple in Puri, Odisha has been in existence since time immemorial. Legends say, there used to be a King named Indradyumna and he was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu.
He had originally constructed the temple on a mountain (Nilasaila). Once the temple was built, he travelled to Brahmaloka to invite Lord Brahma to come and consecrate the temple and the Idols but then Lord Brahma was busy meditating which continued for nine yugas, by then the temple got buried in sand and forgotten in time.
One fine day, it was accidentally discovered by King Gelamadhaba and then later it was repaired, restored and completed by King Chodaganga in the 12th century and that is what we see today.
Jagannath Temple, Puri is one of the Char Dhams of Hindus, the other three Dhams being Badrinath, Dwarka and Rameshwaram.
Lord Jagannath's Various Veshas (Costumes)
- Suna Vesha – The 11th day of the bright fortnight of Asadha.
- Banabhojee Vesha– The 10th day of the dark fortnight of Bhadraba
- Kaliya Dalana Vesha – B The 11th day of the dark fornight of Bhadraba.
- Pralambasura Baddha Vesha –The 12th day of the dark fortnight of Bhadraba.
- Krushna Balaram Vesha– The 13th day of the dark fornight of Bhadraba.
- Bali Vamana Vesha – The 12th day of the bright fortnight of Bhadraba.
- Raja Vesha – The 10th day of the bright fornight of Aswina, the full moon of Pausa and the full moon of Phalguna.
- Radha Damodar Vesha – The 10th day of the bright fortningh to Aswina, the full moon of Pausa and the full moon of Phalguna.
- Thia Khia Vesha– The 11th day of the bright fornight of Kartika.
- Bankachuda Vesha – The 12th day of the bright fortnight of Kartika.
- Nagarjuna Vesha – During Panchuka in the month of Kartika.
- Adakia Vesha – The 13th day of the bright fortnight of Kartika.
- Dalkia Vesha – The 14th day of the bright fornight of Kartika.
- Raja Rajeswari Vesha – The full moon of Kartika.
- Padma Vesha – The 2nd day of the bright fortnight of Magha.
- SradhaVesha – From the 1st to 3rd day of the dark fortnight of Magha.
- Gaja Uddharana Vesha – The full moon of Magha.
- Chacheri Vesha – From the 9th day of the bright fornight to the full moon of Phalguna.
- Chandana Lagi Vesha – From the 19th day of dark fortnight to the full moon of Jyestha.
- Gajanana Vesha(Ganesh Vesha) –Devasnana Purnima
Amazing Facts About Temple
- Patitapabana Bana (The Flag) on the top of the Gopuram always waves in the opposite direction of the wind.
- The Patitapabana Bana is changed every day. A priest climbs to the top of the Gopuram which is as tall as a 45-storey building and changes the flag every single morning.
- Neela Chakra (Blue Wheel) which is placed on the top of the Gopuram, is made of Ashtadhatu (Eight Metals) and interestingly, no matter where you stand, the Neela Chakra will always face you.
- No Planes, no birds fly above the temple
- The holy kitchen is another interesting and mystery. The Mahaprasada is cooked by placing seven earthen pots one on top of another and the food in the topmost pot gets cooked first followed by the other pots in the descending order.
- Mahaprasada never falls short and also never goes waste. Irrespective of the no. of devotees visiting the temple every day.
- The temple, even though is as tall as a 45-storey building, never casts its shadow. No matter what time of the day it is, but it never casts its shadow on the ground.
- Singhdwara (The Main Entrance) has a magic associated with it. When you enter the Singhadwara, you can hear the sound of the waves of the nearby Bay of Bengal but the moment you enter inside, you will no longer get to hear the sound of the wave.
- Science says that during the day time the breeze from the sea comes into the land and the opposite occurs in the evening but in Jagannath Puri, it is the reverse. .