Nonpareil - Shree Jagannath Temple

By Yashna Gupta

In the holy city of Puri, is seated the alluring temple of Jagannath Puri. If is one of the “char dhams” of our Hindu religion. This temple is dedicated to lord Jagannath a form of lord Vishnu. Its heavenly architecture is rich in carvings, sculptures and paintings. There are a plenty of smaller temples and a main shrine within the complex. There are numerous pilgrims visiting temple every day. To enter, there are four gates in four directions each depicting an animal. All animals representing their strength – lion on east, horse on south, tiger on west and elephant on north. It feels as if they are showing the power of temple. I got a chance to enter from eastern gate -gate with lion symbolizing “MOKSHYA”. Surprisingly, the resonated sound of the ocean vanishes after entering into the sacred place as if it was never there. Phones, shoes and leather articles are not allowed inside the main temple. There is zero charge for keeping them safe with the staff present there- something never seen in temples. The open-air porch outside is full of devotees waiting for their turns for the “darshan”. Children below five years are not allowed inside the fane. People have flowers in their hands to offer to the deity. Suddenly, some monkeys jump into the place and snatches flowers from a lady’s hand. The crowd gets scared especially the little ones but the monkeys ran away as the care taker shooed them away. After a long await, I entered the Sanctum. There are three wooden idols one of each – Jagannath on left, elder brother Bal Bhadra on right and sister Subhadra in the centre .The deities are so engaging that one forgets everything in their aura. They have enormously big eyes without eyelids demonstrating that the lord never closes their eyes, not even to sleep. In my opinion, there are trying to teach us not to get tired in this fast-running life and not to get distracted from our aim. These idols are changed every 12 years as wood gets spoiled. This symbolises the process of birth and the death in nature. Another attraction is “Mahaprasad” in the temple which is a complete menu in itself and is available for all. There are lots of beliefs about the temple. Some find them true; some consider them as a myth. It is one’s own perception. Still, it is one of the biggest divine places blessing number of people holding faith in it.