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| Lord Jagannath Balaram Suvadra |
Jagannath or the Lord of the world is a particular form of Lord Krisna. He is worshipped in Bengal and in other parts of India but Puri in Orissa happens to be the seat of his worship. Scores and scores of pilgrims pour from all over the country especially for the two biggest festivals the ' Snana - yatra ' and the ' Ratha - yatra ' in the months of Jyasitha and the Ashada that coincides with June and July. The first one happens to be when the image is bathed. The second one is the car festival when the image is brought out in a car or chariot with the other images of Balarama his brother and his sister Suvadra and the cars or chariots are pulled by the devotees. The origin of Lord Jagannath is quite peculiar. Legend says Krisna was killed by a hunter Jara and his body was left to rot under a tree. Some pious persons found them and placed them in a box. A devout king Indra - dyumna who was earnestly trying to propitiate Vishnu was directed by Lord Vishnu to form an image of Jagannatha and to place the bones of Krisna inside it. The king prayed to Viswakarma to assist by making the image. The architect of gods consented to do this but at the same time cautioning the king that if anyone looked at him or in anyway disturbed him whilst he was at work he would immediately desist and would leave the image in an unfinished state. The king promised to the condition and Viswakarma commenced his work. In one night he raised a grand temple in orissa in the blue mountains and then began to make the image. For continous fifteen days the king managed his impatience inorder to restrain himself from disturbing Viswakarma but then one day foolishly tried to see him at work. He became very angry to this and the image was left incomplete without hands or feet in an ugly state. The king repented exceedingly at the result of his curiosity went and prayed to Brahma who comforted him with the promise that he would make the image famous in its present form. The king invited the gods to be present at the inaugeration. Brahma himself was the priest and gave eyes and soul to the god. Thus the fame of Lord Jagannath was established completely. Next to his side is an image of Lord Krisna's brother Balarama and his sister Suvadra. According to a Bengali version of Jagannath:- Vishnu or Narayana and his wife in their abode in the blue mountains of Orissa where he was known as Neelmadhava were visited by gods and men and the place became famous by obtaining the name of Mokshyakhetra or the the place of emancipation from births. King Indradyumna a son of the Sun and a devout worshipper of Lord Vishnu was very eager to visit Neelmadhava. Before starting he sent Vidyapati the brother of his family priest to learn the way to Orissa so that he can act as his guide. On hearing the description of the place on his return the king was more desperate to go than ever. The king went under the guidance of Vidyapati but on his arrival he was terribly disappointed to know that god has withdrawn from public gaze. As he cried in sorrow a divine voice from the sky reached his ear telling - as you cannot see Neelmadhava make a wooden image and worship that, Narayana will inhabit it and by the sight of the image everybody including you will obtain emancipation. The king followed this advice. As he was preparing the image Narayana took the form of an old brahmin named Viswakarma came and offered to form the image within fifteen days. The offer was accepted and within time the image of Lord Jagannath Balarama and Suvadra was complete. Jagannath is not only worshiped in the temple but for three days in a year is put to public view. As stated earlier they are ' Snan Yatra ' the first where the idol is taken from its shrine and on a raised platform is bathed by the priests inview of thousands of devotees. This exposure is believed to be the result of a cold, so that ten days later the ' Ratha Yatra ' or the car festival is held and during this time the image is placed on a huge chariot made only for this purpose and taken to the temple of another god ' Masir bari ' or aunts house for change of air. The car is drawn by excited crowd of devotees and it is believed to be a meritorious act to assist in pulling. After a week the third festival or ' Ulto Rath ' the return festival is held though in somewhat subdued flavour where the image is again dragged back to the temple. Puri in Orissa is where this festival is held and is an important festival now celebrated world wide. This festival is celebrated in each and every city and town in India. There are various legends associated with Lord Jagannath. Some accept and believe that he is an appearence of Lord Vishnu himself. While some believe that Jagannath was an image worshipped by an unknown tribe which later got inducted to Hinduism.
