Puri Jagannath Temple

Puri Jagannath Temple is an important Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Jagannath, a form of Vishnu, in Puri in the state of Odisha.
The present temple was rebuilt from the 10th century onwards, on the site of an earlier temple, by King Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva, the first of the Eastern Ganga dynasty.
The Jagannath Temple in Puri is called the “White Pagoda”.
The temple is a part of Char Dham (Badrinath, Dwaraka, Puri, Rameswaram) pilgrimages that a Hindu is expected to make in one’s lifetime.
The Puri temple is famous for its Annual Ratha yatra (chariot festival), in which the three principal deities are pulled on huge and elaborately decorated temple cars.
- These gave their name to the English term Juggernaut.
Unlike the stone and metal icons found in most Hindu temples, the image of Jagannath is made of wood and is ceremoniously replaced every twelve or nineteen years by an exact replica.

Architecture of Jagannath Temple

The temple is built in the Kalinga style of architecture, with the Pancharatha (Five Chariots) type consisting of two anurathas, two konakas and one ratha.
The temple is a panchayath with well-developed pagas.
- ‘Gajasimhas’ (elephant lions)arecarved in recesses of the pagas, and
- ‘Jhampasimhas’ (Jumping lions)are also placed properly.
The perfect pancharatha temple developed into a Nagara-rekha temple.
The temple is built on an elevated platform, as compared to Lingaraja temple and other temples belonging to this type.
This is the first temple in the history of Kalingaan temple architecture where all the chambers like Jagamohana, Bhogamandapa and Natyamandapa were built along with the main temple.
There are miniature shrines on the three outer sides of the main temple.

The Ratna Bhandar, the sacred treasury of the 12th-century Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri, was recently opened after 46 years, following years of legal battles, controversies, and debates.
A high-level committee was constituted to supervise the process of cataloguing the valuables in the Ratna Bhandar.
The committee suggested different standard operating procedures and cataloguing of ornaments and safety of valuables.