Jagannath

A puja for Lord Jagannath is conducted every Sunday at 11.00 AM

Om NilachalaNivashaya Nityaya Paramatmane Balabhadra Subhadravyam Jagannathaya Te Namah

Lord Jagannath is an abstract deity of Lord Krishna.”Jagat” means universe/ world and “natha” means Lord, hence Jagannnatha is Lord of the Universe, the lord of every one and therefore worshipped by all. The form of Lord Jagannath is identical with the eternal, blissful and youth form of Lord Krishna, the supreme absolute Truth. He is “darubrahma” and he is formless form of God made of wood. He sits on the Ratna Singhasan with his older brother Lord Balabhadra and sister Subhadra and the mighty Sudarshan Chakra.

He is lord of the universe as all the fours deities have 4 different colors representing four different races of world. Jagannath is Black (inscrutability) in color, Lord Balabhadra is white (enlightment) in color, sister Subhadra is yellow (goodness) in color and lord Sudarshan is red in color, hence representing all the four races of world. His arms are parallel, hence willing to embrace the devotees from all over the world and his eyes are round with out any eye lids so he can be always looking after the welfare of his devotees with out any sleep around the clock.

At the main gate of the temple ( Simhadwara or Lions Gate) there are 22 steps up which one must climb to enter the inner temple. Before meeting the Lord Jagannath we must become purified of the five worldly fetters, i.e. Lust, anger, Jealousy, greed and Pride. This can be done slowly, in steps. The first five steps represent the five outer sense organs eyes, ears, nose , tongue and the skin. The next five steps represent the five pranas or life – prana, apana, vyana, udana, samana. The next five steps represent the inner senses or tan-matras : rupa-sight, rasa- taste, gandha- smell, sabda-sound, sparsa- touch. Then the next five steps represent the pancha- maha-bhutas, the five great elements: earth, fire, water , air and body consciousness. The last two steps represent Buddhi or intelligence and ahamkara or ego, the false conception of self. One by one all these must be purified before passing in to the inner sanctum of the temple and meet the Lord Jagannath.

The idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, Sister Subhadra are made from woods ( Daru) and hence the lifespan is only 12 years. That is why there has been a necessity for the re-embodiment of these deities. At this point, one question baffles and intrigues our mind why did the king who would construct such huge temple of stones, allow the idols to be made from the wood? An answer to this question would compel us to throw light on the significance of using wood as the material for making of the idols. According to scriptures, it is known that the worship of idols made from wood is more fructifying than that of the idols made from other materials. One can not ignore at the same time the fact that in ancient times, much before man learnt the use of metals, he treated trees as the manifestation of eternity. Tree worship was much in vogue in those times. The tree worship originated from the fowler or tribal tradition. In ancient books the only industry, the importance of wood in the use of idol-making practices has been variously discussed. Barahamihir in his much acclaimed book Bruhat Samhita has mentioned that worship of idols made from wood or earth or soil, bestows longevity, beauty, valor and victory. He also stated that the worship of idols made from gem, gold, silver, copper and stone would sanction well being, health, fame, issues or children and possession of landed property respectively. The significance of worship of idols made from wood has been recorded in Baikhanas Agam. It is known from Skandha Purana, Darubrahma Gita and Deula Tala that King Indradyumna got a piece of wood or Daru from the mouth of sea at Banki from which he was advised in the dream, he ordered the idols to be prepared. According to Agamashasastra trees are three kinds- the male, female and neuter. Neem tree is identified as a male tree and hence the wood is strong and the best for making idol of Lord Vishnu. In Bhabisya Purana it is specified that the neem wood is worshipped by all caste and races: Nimbadya Sarvabarnanam Bruksha Sadharana Smrutah. Lord Jagannath is being worshipped by all types of men, with no social and religious barriers. As the idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, Goddess Subhadra and Lord Sudarshan are made from neem wood , as the longevity of the wood is twelve years, the re-embodiment ceremony known as NavaKalebara of the lord takes place in every twelve years when there are two consecutive Asadha months.

The Legend - Story Of Lord Jagannath also known as Nilamadhava

After the end of the Mahabharata War, Lord Krishna was taking rest under a creeper called Sialilata. The tribesman Jara Sabar was out hunting and accidentally shot Krishna with an arrow, severely wounding Him. When they received this terrible news, the five Pandava brothers quickly arrived on the scene. Lord Krishna gave them some good advice and took away the heavenly power of Krishnakala from Arjuna, the best of archers, and left His material body. The mourning brothers carried their uncle's body to the Bay of Bengal, and cremated it there (This place is now inside the Jagannath Temple, and is known as Koili Vaikuntha.) The whole body was destroyed, except for the heart, which remained intact and indestructible. The heart was then thrown into the sea.

The heart began to float and cast a brilliant luster on the surface of the water. After a long time, Vishwabasu Sabara, a tribal chieftain noticed the divine effulgence, and took his boat out to find its source. What he found was a blue, stone statue or Parama Vigraha (Super Form). The statue, which was kept at Nila Kandara, became known as Nilamadhava, and was worshipped by chief Vishwabasu there.

The great votary, king Indrayumna of Malava, desired to worship Lord Vishnu. He wished to obtain a most beautiful and sacred deity to install in a new temple, which was being constructed for that very purpose. So, messengers were sent to track down an extraordinary deity of Lord Vishnu. One of them, named Vidyapati, reached Vishwabasu's village by chance. Seeking a little rest there, he became Vishwabasu's guest. The family treated him well. Vidyapati fell in love with the chief's only daughter, Lalita, who was extremely beautiful.

Vidyapati noticed that Vishwabasu went to worship every day at mysterious impenetrable location upland from the village. Investigating the matter, Vidyapati became convinced the chief was worshipping an extraordinarily beautiful deity of Lord Vishnu. In order to guarantee the success of his mission, Vidyapati married Lalita. He began to question his father-in-law, Vishwabasu, about the chief's daily outings, and asked to be taken to the secret spot. After much discussion, Vishwabasu finally agreed to take Vidyapati there, on the condition that he is blindfolded. During the journey, Vidyapati marked the trail by dropping mustard seeds that were given to him by Lalita.

When they reached the secret place of worship, Vidyapati became overwhelmed by the beautiful deity, being aware of its unprecedented splendor, peace and sanctity. Within a few days, Vidyapati left the village to return to the kingdom of king Indrayumna. Receiving the good news, the king marched to the once secret spot with his fierce army. But, to everyone's surprise, there was no deity to be found there. King Indrayumna was very disappointed, and had Bishwabasu imprisoned as he began his empty handed return to the kingdom. After a few days, the king received a divine message making him realize his cruelty toward the tribal, and instructing him to free the tribal chief. He also understood that it was his own cruelty that caused the deity to disappear.

After much devotion, the vanished Nilamadhava consoled king Indrayumna and assured him that He would be available soon, in a different form. After they completed the new temple, the king's men found an enormous log at the sea shore, which they retrieved for the purpose of fashioning a deity.

Many highly skilled, first class carpenters failed to even scratch the log. Seeing king Indrayumna's distress, Vishwakarma, the architect of the demigods, descended in the form of an old man to carry out the carving. He desired to make the deity in secret, and asked the king to arrange for musicians to sit outside the closed room and play so that no one could hear what was going on inside. The days came and went. On the twenty first day, curiosity got the better of the queen, who opened the sealed door. She was shocked to find nothing in the room except for four partially carved figures. At that moment, a heavenly voice instructed the king on how to proceed, and named the four figures Jagannath, Subhadra, Balarama and Sudarshan. Finally, king Indrayumna prayed to Lord Brahma, the creator of the universe, to descend and perform the installation ceremony for the deities

PARASHAKTHI (The Eternal Mother) Temple 551 W. Kennett, Pontiac, Michigan 48340 Phone - 248 - 322-4731 Maps & Directions e-mail: omshakthi@parashakthitemple.org