Jagannath
Jagannath is a deity worshipped in regional Hindu traditions in India as part of a triad along with brother Balabhadra, and his sister, Subhadra.
Jagannath, within Odia Hinduism, is the supreme god, Purushottama, and the Para Brahman. To most Vaishnava Hindus, particularly the Krishnaites, Jagannath is a form of Krishna, sometimes as an avatar of Vishnu. To some Shaiva and Shakta Hindus, he is a symmetry-filled tantric form of Bhairava, a fierce manifestation of Shiva associated with annihilation.
The origin and evolution of Jagannath worship is unclear. Some scholars interpret hymn 10.155.3 of the Rigveda as a possible origin, but others disagree and state that it is a syncretic/synthetic deity with tribal roots. Jagannathism — the particular sector of Jagannath as a major deity — emerged in the Early Middle Ages and later became an independent state regional temple-centered tradition of Krishnaism/Vaishnavism. The idol of Jagannath is a carved and decorated wooden stump with large round eyes and a symmetric face, and the idol has a conspicuous absence of hands or legs. The worship procedures, sacraments and rituals associated with Jagannath are syncretic and include rites that are uncommon in Hinduism. Unusually, the icon is made of wood and replaced with a new one at regular intervals.
The English word juggernaut was the rendition into English of "Jagannath" by early British in India, and came to mean a very large and unstoppable force from accounts of the famous Ratha Yatra processions in Puri.
Jagannath is considered a non-sectarian deity. He is significant regionally in the Indian states of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Gujarat, Assam, Manipur and Tripura. He is also significant to the Hindus of Bangladesh. The Jagannath temple in Puri, Odisha is particularly significant in Vaishnavism, and is regarded as one of the Char Dham pilgrimage sites in India. The Jagannath temple is massive, over high in the Nagara architecture style of Hindu temple architecture, and one of the best surviving specimens of Kalinga architecture, namely Odisha art and architecture. It has been one of the major pilgrimage destinations for Hindus since about 800 CE.
The annual festival called the Ratha Yatra celebrated in June or July every year in eastern states of India is dedicated to Jagannath. His image, along with the other two associated deities, is ceremoniously brought out of the sacrosanctum of his chief temple in Puri. They are placed in a temple car which is then pulled by numerous volunteers to the Gundicha Temple. They stay there for eight days, and on the 9th day they are returned to the main temple. Coinciding with the Ratha Yatra festival at Puri, similar processions are organized at Jagannath temples throughout the world. It falls on the Dwitiya Tithi, the second day of the bright fortnight of the Sharad Paksha, a fortnight of the Hindu lunar month of Ashadha. During the festive public procession of Jagannath in Puri, hundreds of thousands of devotees visit Puri to see Jagannath in chariot.
Etymology
Jagannath is a Sanskrit word, compounded of jagat meaning "universe" and nātha meaning "Master" or "Lord". Thus, Jagannath means "lord of the universe".In the Odia language, Jagannath is linked to other names, such as Jagā or Jagabandhu . Both names derive from Jagannath. Further, on the basis of the physical appearance of the deity, names like Kāḷiā , Dārubrahma , Dāruēdebatā, Cakā Ākhi or Cakā Nayana, Cakā Ḍōḷā are also in vogue.
According to Dina Krishna Joshi, the word may have origins in the tribal word Kittung of the Sora people. This hypothesis states that the Vedic people as they settled into tribal regions adopted the tribal words and called the deity Jagannath. According to O. M. Starza, this is unlikely because Kittung is phonetically unrelated, and the Kittung tribal deity is produced from burnt wood and looks very different from Jagannath.
Iconography
The icon of Jagannath in his temples is a brightly painted, rough-hewn log of neem wood. The image consists of a square flat head, a pillar that represents his face merging with the chest. The icon lacks a neck, ears, and limbs, is identified by a large circular face symbolizing someone who is anādi and ananta. Within this face are two big symmetric circular eyes with no eyelids, one eye symbolizing the sun and the other the moon, features traceable in 17th-century paintings. He is shown with an Urdhva Pundra, the Vaishnava U-shaped mark on his forehead. His dark colour and other facial features are an abstraction of the cosmic form of the Hindu god Krishna, states Starza. In some contemporary Jagannath temples, two stumps pointing forward in an embracing position represent his hands. In some exceptional medieval and modern era paintings in museums outside India, states Starza, Jagannath is shown fully anthropomorphised but with the traditional abstract mask face.The typical icon of Jagannath is unlike other deities found in Hinduism who are predominantly anthropomorphic. However, aniconic forms of Hindu deities are not uncommon. For example, Shiva is often represented in the form of a Shiva linga. In most Jagannath temples in the eastern states of India, and all his major temples such as the Puri, Odisha, Jagannath is included with his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra. Apart from the principal companion deities, the Jagannath icon shows a Sudarshana Chakra and sometimes under the umbrella cover of multiheaded Sesha Naga, both linking him to Vishnu.
When shown with Balabhadra and Subhadra, he is identifiable from his circular eyes compared to the oval or almond shape of the other two abstract icons. Further, his icon is dark, while Balabhadra's face is white, and Subhadra's icon is yellow. The third difference is the flat head of Jagannath icon, compared to semi-circular carved heads of the other two. They are accompanied by the Sudarshana Chakra, the iconic weapon of Vishnu. It is approximately the same height as Balabhadra, is red in colour, carved from a wooden pillar and clothed, unlike its traditional representation as a chakra in other Vishnu temples. Jagannath iconography, when he is depicted without companions, shows only his face, neither arms nor torso. This form is sometimes called Patita Pavana, or Dadhi Vaman.
The images are unique in being made of wood, since most Hindu murtis are made of stone or metal. The murtis of Jagannath, Balabhadra, Subhadra and Sudarshana Chakra are made of neem wood. Neem wood is chosen because the Bhavishya Purana declares it to be the most auspicious wood from which to make Vishnu murtis. The idol of Jagannatha, Balabhadra, Subhadra and Sudarshana is re-painted every week in the Jagannatha Temple, Puri. It is replaced with a newly carved image every 12 or 19 years approximately, or more precisely according to the luni-solar Hindu calendar when its month of Asadha occurs twice in the same year.
Attributes
In the Jagannath tradition, Jagannath is most frequently identified with an abstract form of Krishna as the supreme deity.Jagannath is considered as equivalent to the Hindu metaphysical concepts of Brahman/Para Brahman and Purushottama/Shunya Purusha, wherein he then is the Avatarī, i.e., the cause and equivalence of all avatars and the infinite existence in space and time. According to author Dipti Ray in Prataparudra Deva, the Suryavamsi King of Odisha:
In the Jagannath tradition, he has the attributes of all the avatars of Krishna/Vishnu. This belief is celebrated by dressing him and worshipping him as different avatars on special occasions. The Puranas relate that the Narasimha Avatar of Vishnu appeared from a wooden pillar. It is therefore believed that Jagannath is worshipped as a wooden murti or Daru Brahma with the Shri Narasimha hymn dedicated to the Narasimha Avatar. Every year in the month of Bhadra, Jagannath is dressed and decorated in the form of the Vamana avatar of Vishnu. Jagannath appeared in the form of Rama, another avatar of Vishnu, to Tulsidas, who worshipped him as Rama and called him Raghunath during his visit to Puri in the 16th century.
Sometimes one regards him as one of the avatars of Krishna or Vishnu. His name does not appear in the traditional Dashavatara of Vishnu, though in certain Odia literature, Jagannath has been treated as the avatar of Krishna, as a substitute for or the equivalent of the avatar Buddha from Dashavatara.
Tantric deity
Outside Vaishnava tradition, Jagannath is considered the epitome of Tantric worship. The symmetry in iconography, the use of mandalas and geometric patterns in its rites support the tantric connection proposal.Jagannath is venerated as Bhairava or Shiva, the consort of the goddess Vimala, by Shaivites and Shakta sects. The priests of Jagannath Temple at Puri belong to the Shakta sect, although the Vaishnava sect's influence predominates. As part of the triad, Balabhadra is also considered to be Shiva and Subhadra, a manifestation of Durga. In the Markandeya Purana the sage Markandeya declared that Purushottama Jagannath and Shiva are one. Jagannath in his Hathi Besha or Gaja Besha has been venerated by devotees like Ganapati Bappa of Maharashtra as Ganesha.
Origins
Skanda Purana
According to the Purushottama Kshetra Mahatmya of the Skanda Purana, the deity Yama requested Vishnu to disappear from the region of Purushottama Kshetra, dissatisfied with the direct salvation of those who lived in the region. Vishnu agreed to do so. Indradyumna, the king of Avanti, grew interested in venerating the deity Nilamadhava, made of sapphire. He is described to have sent the younger brother of his royal priest, or sometimes a minister, Vidyapati, to locate the site of the deity's image in the Nilagiri region. Regional folklore states that the priest was welcomed by Vishvavasu, the chieftain of the Savara people. During the duration of his stay in the chieftain's house, the latter's daughter, Lalita, fell in love with him. Upon the chieftain's request, Vidyapati married her. He noticed that the chieftain would leave the house every evening, and only return the following noon. At his urging, Lalita revealed to him that these were her father's visits to the shrine of Nilamadhava, whose location was held secret within the community. Vidyapati persuaded his wife to ask Vishvavasu to take him along to see the image of the deity. The chieftain agreed to take Vidyapati with him, but on the condition that he be blindfolded during the journey so that the shrine's location remained undisclosed. Lalita helped her husband devise a plan: Vidyapati brought a bag of mustard seeds with him, scattering them all along the path to the shrine present in a cave, bearing witness to the deep blue image of Nilamadhava. Returning to Avanti, he reported his discovery of the shrine to Indradyumna. After a few months, following the mustards seeds that had since germinated into plants, the king and his retinue travelled to the shrine, unable to locate the image. After praying to Vishnu for three days and nights, they heard the deity's voice thunder from the heavens, rebuking them for their scheme and informing them of his omnipresence. He announced that he would manifest as a dāru floating by the sea. He instructed them to construct a new temple upon a mountain that stood beside the seashore for his worship.In the Skanda Purana, by the time Vidyapati returned to inform the king of the site of the shrine, a great storm had buried the image of Nilamadhava under the sand. Despite his best attempts, the king was unable to locate the image. Upon the counsel of the sage divinity Narada, Indradyumna constructed a new temple, and performed a thousand ashvamedha yajnas at the site. Receiving guidance in the form of a divine dream, a great tree floating in the sea was felled and used to create the three wooden images of the temple, those of Jagannatha, Balarama, and Subhadra. The king travelled to Brahmaloka to invite Brahma to inaugurate the temple. With the passage of time, a king named Gala claimed to have been the temple's real architect, but with the return of Indradyumna to earth, he withdrew this claim. After Brahma had inaugurated the temple, Indradyumna returned to Brahmaloka, entrusting the upkeep of the site to Gala.
In Nepal, a Skanda Purana manuscripts dated to 9th century CE have been discovered. However, a comparison shows that the 9th century CE document is entirely different from versions of Skanda Purana that have been circulating in the Indian subcontinent after the 12th century. The various Khandas in modern Skanda Purana have all been found in manuscripts after 12th century.