Jagannath (, , ; formerly ) 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 an avatar 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. 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 high in the Kalinga architecture style of Hindu temple architecture, and one of the best surviving specimens of Kalinga architecture, namely Odisha art and architecture. It has been one of the major pilgrimage destinations for Hindus since about 800 CE.
The annual festival called the Ratha Yatra celebrated in June or July every year in eastern states of India is dedicated to Jagannath. His image, along with the other two associated deities, is ceremoniously brought out of the sacrosanctum (Garbhagriha) of his chief temple in Puri (, ). They are placed in a temple car which is then pulled by numerous volunteers to the Gundicha Temple (located at a distance of nearly ). They stay there for eight days, and on the 9th day they are returned to the main temple. Coinciding with the Ratha Yatra festival at Puri, similar processions are organized at Jagannath temples throughout the world. It falls on the Dwitiya Tithi, the second day of the bright fortnight of the Sharad Paksha (also called Shukla Paksha), a fortnight of the Hindu lunar month of Ashadha. During the festive public procession of Jagannath in Puri, hundreds of thousands of devotees visit Puri to see Jagannath in chariot.
Etymology
thumb|Idol of Jagannath, 2011
Jagannath is a Sanskrit word, compounded of jagat meaning "universe" and nātha meaning "Master" or "Lord". Thus, Jagannath means "lord of the universe".
In the Odia language, Jagannath is linked to other names, such as Jagā () or Jagabandhu () ("Friend of the Universe"). Both names derive from Jagannath. Further, on the basis of the physical appearance of the deity, names like Kāḷiā () ("The Black-coloured Lord", but which can also mean "the Timely One"), Dārubrahma () ("The Sacred Wood-Riddle"), Dāruēdebatā ( "The wooden god"), Cakā Ākhi () or Cakā Nayana ( "with round eyes"), Cakā Ḍōḷā ( "with round pupils") are also in vogue.
According to Dina Krishna Joshi, the word may have origins in the tribal word Kittung of the Sora people (Savaras). This hypothesis states that the Vedic people as they settled into tribal regions adopted the tribal words and called the deity Jagannath. According to O. M. Starza, this is unlikely because Kittung is phonetically unrelated, and the Kittung tribal deity is produced from burnt wood and looks very different from Jagannath.
Iconography
The icon of Jagannath in his temples is a brightly painted, rough-hewn log of neem wood. The image consists of a square flat head, a pillar that represents his face merging with the chest. The icon lacks a neck, ears, and limbs, is identified by a large circular face symbolizing someone who is anādi (without beginning) and ananta (without end). Within this face are two big symmetric circular eyes with no eyelids, one eye symbolizing the sun and the other the moon, features traceable in 17th-century paintings. He is shown with an Urdhva Pundra, the Vaishnava U-shaped mark on his forehead. His dark colour and other facial features are an abstraction of the cosmic form of the Hindu god Krishna, states Starza. In some contemporary Jagannath temples, two stumps pointing forward in an embracing position represent his hands. In some exceptional medieval and modern era paintings in museums outside India (such as in Berlin), states Starza, Jagannath is shown fully anthropomorphised but with the traditional abstract mask face.
The typical icon of Jagannath is unlike other deities found in Hinduism who are predominantly anthropomorphic. However, aniconic forms of Hindu deities are not uncommon. For example, Shiva is often represented in the form of a Shiva linga. In most Jagannath temples in the eastern states of India, and all his major temples such as the Puri, Odisha, Jagannath is included with his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra. Apart from the principal companion deities, the Jagannath icon shows a Sudarshana Chakra and sometimes under the umbrella cover of multiheaded Sesha Naga, both linking him to Vishnu.
thumb|Jagannath icons are produced from wood. They are replaced every 8 or 12 or 19 years. Above: logs in transport to prepare the Jagannath icon.
When shown with Balabhadra and Subhadra, he is identifiable from his circular eyes compared to the oval or almond shape of the other two abstract icons. Further, his icon is dark, while Balabhadra's face is white, and Subhadra's icon is yellow. The third difference is the flat head of Jagannath icon, compared to semi-circular carved heads of the other two.