On the cover: Lord Jagannath by Ds babariya
Located in the holy city of Puri, with tens of thousands of devotees arriving every day, Jagannath Temple stands among India’s most visited pilgrimage sites. The temple is deeply rooted in centuries-old traditions, devotion, and fascinating mysteries and phenomena that continues to captivate its visitors.
The mysterious phenomena of the Temple
The temple is 214 feet tall, almost as tall as a 14 storied building and a flag is located on the very top of the temple. This flag is manually changed everyday by a priest who climbs the temple without any safety gear or equipment, only with the power of faith and changes the flag. It is believed that if the flag is not changed the temple will have to be closed for 18 years. This flag is a mystery in itself. It always flows in the opposite direction of the wind, no matter how strong the wind is.
The prasad is made in 7 layers of earthen containers mounted on top of each other and the top most layers get cooked first and the one nearest to fire is ready in the end. The people who carry prasad are blindfolded and the prasad is carried through dark tunnels so that even sunlight cannot reach it before the god himself. Even more fascinating is that the number of visitors vary everyday but the Jagganath temple kitchen is a zero waste kitchen means that not even a single bit of prasad is wasted.
Puri is a coastal city and there are a number of beaches. Right outside the temple the sound of waves from the sea are clearly audible but the moment you enter the temple the sound fades away completely. One more astonishing fact is the temple is huge in size but it casts no shadow at any time of the day.
The chakra at the top of the Jagannath Temple is called the Nila Chakra (Blue Wheel). It is made of an alloy of eight metals and is placed atop the temple’s Neelachakra pinnacle. The popular mystery is that the Nila Chakra appears to face you no matter where you stand in Puri.
The idols in the Jagganath temple are made up of wood and every 12 years the idols are replaced with the newly made ones this ritual is called as Nabakalebara. As the old idols decay, a group of priests head to find a very specific and special Neem tree once it's selected, the tree is then touched with a gold key then a silver key and then its cut with an iron axe. The wood is then brought into the temple and carved by hereditary artisans in an isolated room in the temple premises. Nobody including the senior priests are allowed to watch the process.
The idols are replaced at midnight, and the people who replace them are blindfolded. Everything changes except for the Brahma Padartha. Legend says it is the heart of Lord Krishna, but this fact is debated. What happens next is surprising, the old idols are then buried in a sacred place near the temple and mourning rites are performed. Conventionally a temple tries to defeat time using deities made up of stone or precious metals, but at Jagganath temple decay is expected, the body is allowed to end so that presence can continue.