1. JAGAANNATH PURI TEMPLE
BEST PLACES NEAR BY VISIT IN JAGANNATH PUR Jagannath Puri, for short called Puri, is a city located along the eastern seaboard of India within the state of Odisha. It has a rather ancient temple dedicated to Lord Jagannath, which is an avatar of Lord Vishnu. It remains one of the four holy Char Dham pilgrimage sites of Hindus along with Badrinath, Rameswaram, and Dwarka. This city boasts of huge religious, cultural, and historical import. Every year millions of devotees and tourists swarm the city.
Jagannath Temple
The Jagannath Temple is the heart of the city of Puri and one of India’s most important temples. The temple complex was established in the 12th century by King Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva, who came from the Eastern Ganga dynasty. This temple complex consists of numerous smaller shrines dedicated to a variety of deities, which gives it its massive scale. However, the most important part of the temple is not these multiplicity but the triad of deities: Lord Jagannath, his brother Balabhadra, and their sister Subhadra. It also has some marvelous architecture distinctively characterized by its spires reaching the sky and carvings as a Kalinga style.
Perhaps the most distinctive feature of the temple is the use of deities carved from wood instead of the stone or metal
BEST PLACES NEAR BY VISIT IN JAGANNATH PUR idols most Hindu temples utilize. The wooden idols are replaced every 12 to 19 years with new ones through a ritual known as Nabakalebara, and the soul of the old idols is said to be transferred to the new idols.
2.JAGANNATH PURI DIVYA DHAM
BEST PLACES NEAR BY VISIT IN JAGANNATH PUR Deities: There is Lord Jagannath along with his brother Lord Balabhadra and his sister Goddess Subhadra inside this temple. Wood-made deities, a rare entity in Hindu temples. Ritually replaced, in a cycle called Nabakalebara, at regular intervals
Temple Architecture:
Situated in traditional Kalinga architecture, the temple is an imposing structure whose spire rises to a great height of 214 feet. A high wall encloses the entire temple complex, consisting of smaller shrines to several gods and goddesses.
The Chariots and Rath Yatra:
The temple is most popular for the Rath Yatra or Chariot Festival, wherein huge wooden chariots are built every year to take the three deities through the streets of Puri. The chariots, which are exquisitely carved and adorned, are considered mobile temples, and millions of devotees from around the globe throng to the festival.
Ananda Bazaar:
BEST PLACES NEAR BY VISIT IN JAGANNATH PURI
Inside the temple complex lies the Ananda Bazaar, one of the largest food markets in the world, where thousands of devotees are fed daily with Mahaprasad, the sacred offering to Lord Jagannath. Here, the cooking is garlic-free and onion-free as far as religion permits.
Spiritual Facets:
There are several mysterious and architectural wonders besides the temple, such as the flag hoisted atop the spire of the temple is always against the wind; not a bird or airplane crosses over the temple, while the shadow of the prominent temple dome is supposed to never hit the ground at any point in time.
Lion’s Gate:
The main entrance to the temple is called the Singhadwara, or Lion Gate. Lions sit by the sides of the entrance, and there are three other gates named after animals: Ashwadwara, or Horse Gate; Hastidwara, or Elephant Gate; and the Vyaghradwara, or Tiger Gate.
3. JAGANNATH PURI RATH YATRA.
BEST PLACES NEAR BY VISIT IN JAGANNATH PUR The Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra is also known as the Festival of Chariots. This is one of the most important and biggest festivals in India; especially in the state of Odisha, where there is an annual holy city event called Puri. This celebration is dedicated to the Lord Jagannath, considered the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, and his siblings – Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra-through the Rath Yatra. It is a very grand procession that attracts millions of devotees from all over the world. That’s because it is considered to be one of the largest and most vibrant religious festivals in India.
The Rath Yatra has been a more than thousand-year-old festival with deep philosophic inroads into the minds of all Hindus. The journey is usually said to depict the journey of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra from their main temple to the Gundicha Temple located at a distance of nearly 3 kilometers. This is the annual visit of Lord Jagannath to his birthplace, and the deities are deemed to have spent seven days there before returning.
BEST PLACES NEAR BY VISIT IN JAGANNATH PURI
The festival is unique because it is one of the rarest occasions when the deities, who would otherwise stay inside the sanctum of the Jagannath Temple, are taken out and made available for public viewing. This public procession allows devotees of all castes, creeds, and communities to offer their prayers and participate, thereby breaking many traditional barriers.