Jagannātha
Authors: Panda Shaswat 
Published: March 2024

Jagannātha (literally Lord of the Universe) is worshipped along with his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadrā in a stately temple that was built in the 12th century and is located in the coastal town of Puri in the eastern state of Odisha in India. The temple is variously referred to as Jagannātha Mandira, Sri Mandira, and Bada Deula. Owing to its metonymic association with Puri—one of the four dhāms (or principal centers of pilgrimage) for the Hindus, the temple attracts devotees from different corners of the country. Although the deities are considered a part of the mainstream Hindu pantheon, there are practices and rituals of the temple, which retain a strong local character. Jagannātha has been associated with various faiths and sects—Buddhism, Jainism, Vaiśnavism, and Shāktism to name a few. The popularity of Jagannātha can be ascribed to a large extent to stories surrounding his compassionate and protective nature, especially toward his poor and marginalized devotees. Another reason is the assimilation and appropriation of Jagannātha by other religious faiths and sects. Elaborate set of everyday rituals and festivities round the year, especially the Ratha Yatra (annual chariot festival), further contribute toward popularizing the deity. Oblique references to Jagannātha appear in Sanskrit texts as early as the Rig Veda and later in the Upanishads; the allusion being to the worship of wood. It is in Puranic texts that we find vivid descriptions of the deity and his two siblings, particularly in Skanda Purana. The tribal associations of the deities notwithstanding, Jagannātha is today identified within and outside Odisha mainly as a Hindu god. In Odisha, Jagannātha is occasionally equated with the Buddha, who is sometimes considered to be the ninth incarnation of Viśnu. However, such a belief may not be as common among the non-Odia Hindus. Because of his association with Viśnu through incarnation, Jagannātha is considered to be the husband of Lakśmi within the cultural world of the temple. While Lakśmi has a distinct temple devoted to her, she is also worshipped in the form of Śri Devi, who shares the altar-space with the three principal deities. Lakśmi is not integral to all the rituals, however she remains indispensably crucial to many of them. The existence of centuries-old Matts (monasteries) of different sects and visits paid by devotees from various parts of the country certainly testify to the cosmopolitan dimension of what is called Jagannātha samskriti (cultural world). The pre-eminence of Jagannātha in Odisha may be inferred from the role that this samskriti has played in shaping polity and influencing consolidation of power from the medieval times to the present day. The medieval kings ruled in the name of Jagannātha and sought to derive their legitimacy by claiming intimate association with him. During the colonial rule the lord was often invoked as the god of all Odias to whom the Odia nationalists swore their allegiance. In contemporary times, the rhetorical appeal of the “lord of the universe’” may be found in a range of expressions from salutations of “Jay Jagannātha” (“hail lord Jagannātha”) to the names of welfare schemes of the state after the lord. Predictably, Jagannātha occupies an important position in popular culture be it in audio, visual, or digital media.