Jagannath Puri is one of the holy dham sites of Bharat. It holds immense spiritual significance in our country. Jagannath Puri alongwith Badrinath, Dwarka and Rameswaram are the ‘Chaar Dham’ in Hindu dharma. Puri is home to Lord Jagannath, his sister Devi Subhadra and his elder brother Balabhadra. Jagannath literally means ‘Lord of the Universe’. Jagannath Puri temple is located in Puri on the eastern coast of Bharat in Odisha state. The present day temple was built by Raja Anantavarman Chodaganga in the 11th century. There are many unexplained facts about this place which has left modern science and scientist puzzled. Let’s delve into these today.
The story of Shri Jagannath
When Shri Krishna left this mortal world, his body was cremated. His body turned to ashes. However, his heart remained as is. It is said that Shri Krishna’s heart navigated the entire sea route on a wooden log from Dwarka on the west coast to current day Odisha on the east coast. Raja Indrayumna, the ruler of Puri was a great devotee of Shri Vishnu. He saw a dream one night wherein Shri Vishnu instructed him to walk down the Puri beach and collect a wooden log floating in the water. He also asked him to build idols of himself, Balabhadra and Subhadra from the wooden log and consecrate them in a temple. He woke up from his dream and went to the beach where he found a log of wood in the ocean.
Indrayumna now sought to building idols. However he couldn’t find skilled artisans. Out of nowhere an old man came to his palace. He told him that he was an artisan and would build the idols. This was none other than Vishwakarma himself – the architect of the Devas. He told the King that he wanted to make idols from that same wooden log and asked the king to provide him a chamber where he would stay and make the idols for 21 days, without food and water. The king provided everything that he asked for.
Two men guarded the door of the chamber so that the artisan was not disturbed. On the 14th day, the guards informed the king that sound of hammer that used to come from the chamber had stopped. The worried queen forced the king to open the door, fearing that the artisan might have died without food and water. Once the door was opened, the artisan got infuriated and he vanished, leaving the three idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Maa Subhadra incomplete. The King, then placed the statues in the temple.
Stunning facts of Jagannath Puri
- The idols of Shri Jagannath, Devi Subhadra and Shri Balbhadra are made of wood. These wooden idols are replaced with new idols every 8,11,12 or 19 years.
- The flag at the top of the temple always seems to be fluttering in the opposite direction which science cannot explain.
- Every day a priest climbs the walls of the temple with a height equivalent to that of a 45 storey building, to change the flag atop the temple dome. This ritual dates far back to the day the temple was built. The practice is done with bare hands without any protective gear. It’s believed if the ritual is skipped even for one day, the temple will be shut down for a long 18 years.
- The temple is reported to have no shadow at all, at any time of the day from any directions possible.
- There is a Sudarshan chakra at the top of the temple which weighs about one tonne. Any person who views the chakra from a height at any point in time always finds the chakra facing towards himself/herself. The current day temple was built in the 12th century and it is a marvel as to how they installed a one tonne Sudarshan Chakra at the top back then.
- No birds fly atop the temple dome ever. There is no scientific explanation for this phenomenon yet.
- As per laws of nature, during daytime the breeze flows from the sea towards the land. During evening, the breeze blows from the land to the sea. In Jagannath Puri, it happens in the exact opposite manner.
- Every year lakhs of devotees visit the temple. There is a huge rush of devotees during the Rath Yatra days. However, the same quantity of food (prasadam) is prepared daily. The food never goes waste and neither do any devotees remain unfed.
- The Mahaprasad is served to Shri Jagannath at different times during the day and consist of 56 delicacies. The mahaprasad consist of the ‘sukhila’ and ‘sankudi’.
- The prasadam is cooked in seven earthen pots stacked one above the other. Surprisingly, the food in the top most pot gets cooked first and the food in the pot at the bottom gets cooked last. This phenomenon is against scientific laws.
- Once you step into the temple, you don’t hear the sound of the sea waves. It is said that Devi Subhadra wanted the temple to be a serene place. So, in order to please her the temple mutes the sound of the waves.
- The Jagannath Puri temple was destroyed 18 times by invaders as per recorded history. Only Hindus are allowed darshan of Shri Jagannath.
Why are the idols made of wood and replaced every few years?
It is believed that Krishna’s heart (also called ‘bramha padarth’) exudes immense energy and can be stored only in wood. Also the energy is so intense that the wooden idols tend to degenerate with passage of time. Due to this, the idols need to be replaced every few years. The ritual of replacing the wooden idols is called ‘Nabakalebara’. The deities are carved from a special type of neem wood, known as daru bramha. When the idols are changed in the temple, the lights are extinguished in the city of Puri. The priests are blindfolded and put gloves on their hands. They take out the ‘bramha padarth’ from the old idols and put it in the new idol. Till date no one has seen what this ‘bramha padarth’ is. It is being transferred from one idol to another for thousands of years.
Why does Lord Jagannath visit Gundicha temple every year?
Gundicha was the wife of Raja Indrayumna, the legendary ruler who built the original Jagannath Puri temple and idols. After the idols were established in the grand temple, Shri Jagannath appeared before the king and the queen along with his sister Devi Subhadra and brother Balabhadra.
Shri Jagannath smiled at them and said ‘I am pleased with your devotion. What blessing would you like?’ Hearing this, Raja Indrayumna said ‘I have two wishes. I wish not to have any children so that no one can claim the temple as their property. Second, I wish that you eat all day but only sleep for three hours, so that you can give darshan (blessings) to the people for most of the day.’ Shri Jagannath granted the two wishes to the king. However, he noticed that Queen Gundicha was worried and asked ‘Why are you worried, Queen Gundicha?’
Queen Gundicha replied, ‘It is every woman’s dream to have a child of her own, who will take care of her and remember her after she is gone.’ With a warm smile, Shri Jagannath said, ‘Don’t worry, Mother. From now on, Balabhadra and I will be your sons. Every year, we will come here to visit you along with our sister, Devi Subhadra.’ After saying this, Shri Jagannath and his siblings left on their chariots.
Why is the Jagannath Rath Yatra held every year?
To keep his promise, Shri Jagannath, his brother Balabhadra and sister Devi Subhadra make a special journey from their home to visit their aunt – Queen Gundicha every year. Peacefully, they spend nine days there, enjoying the beautiful garden, and eating delicious dishes prepared by their aunt. The Rath Yatra is held to honour the journey of Shri Jagannath and his siblings from their abode to their aunt – Queen Gundicha’s home. Thousands of devotees pull the huge, temple-sized chariots. Jagannath Rath Yatra is a great attraction for devotees and tourists from all over the world.
Why does Shri Jagannath fall sick before the Rath Yatra every year?
It is said that Lord Jagannath had a loving devotee called Madhavdas. He used to visit Shri Jagannath often and used to get his darshan frequently. Once before the Rath Yatra, Madhavdas fell terribly ill and had only few more days of life left in him. Shri Jagannath took half of Madhavdas’s illness upon himself and fell ill. This enabled Madhavdas to recover quickly. It is believed that both Shri Jagannath and Madhavdas took 14 days to recover from the illness. The Rath Yatra started after their recovery. This is why Shri Jagannath falls ill before the Rath Yatra each year.
Jagannath Puri is one of the most mystical places on the planet. If possible one should try and visit Shri Jagannath atleast once in their lifetime.
