Owing its origins back to the age old years of the 11th century, the Jagannath Temple has been relishing its significance as one of the ‘char dhams’ since time immemorial. Thousands of pilgrims and devotees from all across the globe travel all the way to the coastal state of Orissa to pay their homage to Lord Jagannath, the ruler of the Universe.
Related history and factual details of the temple
Coming back to the history of the temple, the construction of the temple was primarily initiated by King Chora Ganga Deva. The temple was finally completed by AnangaBhima Deva, the descendant of the king.
The temple occupies a total area of about 466072 square feet in total and proudly boasts of having the largest kitchen in the world. Hundreds of workers work in the kitchen throughout the day to prepare food for an estimated of 25000 devotees on a regular basis. The count increases to about 1,00,000 pilgrims on a festive occasion. Though the interiors of the temple began being constructed in the 11th century, the famous rectangular walls that surround the temple finally received their shape in the 16th century approximately. The outer wall of temple has been named the MeghnadaPrachira and both the walls stands up proudly to an estimated 20 ft. tall. There are a total of 6000 priests in the temple who take care of all the Puja Samagri and rituals that are related to the temple.
Structure of the Jagannath temple
The temple id adorned by a metallic wheel on its top that is said to have been made through a combination of 8 metals altogether. Termed as the Nila- Chakra, it witnesses the hosting of a new flag on a daily basis. The temple has a total of 4 gates that surrounds it namely:
- The Hastidwara(The Northern Elephant Gate)
- The Ashwadwara(The Southern Horse gate)
- The Simhadwara(The Eastern Lion Gate)
- The Vyaghradwara(The Western Tiger Gate)
There are a number of other smaller temples that surround the main structure and are visted by devotees on an equal scale on their visit to Puri.
The Legend carried forward through time
According to legend King Indrayumna in his quest to find out the secret behind the worship of Nilmadhava was advised by Lord Vishnu in his dreams to build a temple on Nilasila, the blue mountain. During the creation of the temple he was advised by the Lord Vishnu to create the idols out of the wood that comes floating on the shores. It is said that Vishnu himself disguised as a carpenter built the idols. In spite of being asked to be left undisturbed, the kin’s wife being impatient opened the doors during the construction itself. This left the idols incomplete.
The temple witnesses an in pour of thousands of pilgrims from all across who Buy Divine Gifts from the temple premises to offer out to the Lord and seek his blessings. Through the passage of time this place has transformed to become one of the largest tourist spots for all.