Date uploaded in London – – 26 JANURARY 2024
Contact – swami_48@yahoo.com
Pictures are taken from various sources for spreading knowledge.
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tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com
https://www.pustaka.co.in/home/author/london-swaminathan
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Puri, one of the Seven Sacred Towns of Bharat, is in the state of Odisha (Orissa) on the shore of Bay of Bengal. It is one of the places where Adi Shankara established a Mutt. Jagannath temple here is a Vishnu temple.
There are unsolved mysteries of Puri Jagannath Temple ; every Hindu temple has miracles as well.
Puri Jagannath became world famous because of its Rath Yatra (Chariot Festival). There are two reasons for it. The Rath Yatra with three huge Rathas/ Chariots role down for nine days along the streets of Puri. Since lakhs of people come forward to pull the chariots, which is considered a holy act, some devotees fell and died under the chariot wheel. This gave birth to a new world in English dictionaries, JUGGERNAUT. This is the corruption of Jagannath (Lord of the Puri temple); later the word acquired more meaning. Now the dictionary says,
1: a massive inexorable force, campaign, movement, or object that crushes whatever is in its path
an advertising juggernaut, a political juggernaut
2.chiefly British : a large heavy truck
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Rath Yatra
The second reason for Rath Yatra becoming popular is Hare Krishna Movement of Bhakti Vedanta Prabhupada. His devotees celebrate Puri style Rath Yatra in all the famous cities around the world (The author London Swaminathan has been covering London Ratha Yatras from 1987 and loading pictures in his blogs).
These two things spread the message of Krishna. In Puri, there are three Raths Jagannath/Krishna, his elder brother Balabhadra / Balarama and his younger sister Subhadra. They are wide and massive. The festival is held in the month of Ashada corresponding to June- July every year.
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Largest Kitchen
The largest temple kitchen is in Puri Jagannath temple; though Amritsar Golden temple also feeds people for 24 hours, the Variety of food offered at Puri kitchen makes it unique. 56 types of Prasaads offered every day. Total varieties go up to 400 items in a year.
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Another unique feature of the temple is its idols. Most of the Hindu temples have metal idols or stone statues. Here in Puri, they worship wooden figures carved in rough shapes with huge eyes and painted. This is done by the tribal community and changed once every 12 years.
The temple has four gates in the name of animals: Lion Gate, Horse Gate, Tiger and Elephant Gate
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Ban on Indira Gandhi
Past controversies. In 1984, the servitors famously opposed the entry of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi inside the Temple, saying she had married a non-Hindu. The PM was forced to offer prayers from the Raghunandan Library nearby. Even now foreigners are not allowed in Puri temple; but they can have a good view from near by temple library.
Muslim attack destroyed temple
Feroz Shah Tughlaq attacked Puri when it was under the rule of the Ganga dynasty King Bhanudeva III. The king was not in Puri when the attack happened, but when he reached with his army he found that Tughlaq had already left for Delhi. Muslim armies used o loot Hindu temples throughout India. Since they call Hindus, Kafirs, they destroy the sacred Hindu idols.
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Unsolved Mysteries
No Shadow
The Deul’s design, combined with the precise positioning of the temple, contributes to the absence of a shadow. The architects and builders of the Jagannath Temple employed intricate calculations and precise alignment techniques during its construction.
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Once you step into the temple, you stop hearing the sound of the waves. Puri is on the shores of Bay of Bengal.
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There is a wheel of fortune on top of the 160 feet tall towers. It weighs one ton. People wonder how it was taken to the top 800 or 1000 years ago. We see similar engineering wonder in Thanjavur tower as well. The temple is as tall as a 45 story building.
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Lakhs of people visit the temple every year; but the amount of Prasad (temple food) made every day remain same. No one goes hungry; unused food is dried and sold as Prasad. Daily food serving is FREE.
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It is natural to see sea breeze coming from sea during day time and blowing towards sea in night time. But it happens in the reverse direction in Puri.
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Normally birds fly on top of the temple towers but in Puri no bird flies on top of the tower. The fluttering flag on top, is changed every day manually . it has been going on for 1000s of years without missing a single day.
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The flag at the top of the tower flies in opposite direction, which is not seen any other place.
—subham—
Tags- Puri, Odisha, Juggernaut, Jagannath temple, Rath Yatra
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