Jagannath

Jagannath (Sanskrit: जगन्नाथ, Odia: ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ, romanized: Jagannātha, lit. 'Lord of the Universe', Odia pronunciation: [dʒɔɡɔnːat̪ʰɔ]; formerly English: Juggernaut) is a Hindu deity worshipped as part of a triad along with his brother, Balabhadra, and his sister, Subhadra. Jagannath, within Odia Hinduism, is the supreme god, Purushottama, and the Para Brahman. To most Vaishnava Hindus, Jagannath is a regional form of Krishna, sometimes as a form of Vishnu. To some Shaiva and Shakta Hindus, he is a symmetry-filled tantric form of Bhairava, a fierce manifestation of Shiva associated with annihilation. Jagannathism (a.k.a. Odia Vaishnavism) — the particular sector of Jagannath as a major deity — emerged in the Early Ages and later became an independent state regional temple-centered tradition of Vaishnavism. The idol of Jagannath is a carved and decorated wooden stump with large round eyes and a symmetric face, and the idol has a conspicuous absence of hands or legs. The worship procedures, sacraments and rituals associated with Jagannath are syncretic and include rites that are uncommon in Hinduism. Unusually, the icon is made of wood and replaced with a new one at regular intervals. The English word juggernaut was the rendition into English of "Jagannath" by early British in India, and came to mean a very large and unstoppable force from accounts of the famous Ratha Yatra processions in Puri. Jagannath is considered a non-sectarian deity. He is significant regionally in the Indian states of Odisha, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Gujarat, Assam, Manipur and Tripura. He is also significant to the Hindus of Bangladesh. The Jagannath temple in Puri, Odisha is significant in Hinduism, and is regarded as one of the Char Dham pilgrimage sites in India. The Jagannath temple is massive, over 66 metres (215 ft) high in the Kalinga architecture style of Hindu temple architecture, and...