Jagannatha
Jagannatha ( Sanskrit जगन्नाथ Jagannātha ; jagat: "world", "universe", natha: "Lord") represents the Hindu god Vishnu . There are different theories about the origins and historical development of the worship of Jagannatha.
Jagannatha enjoys particular veneration in the coastal town of Puri in the Indian state of Odisha , where he is worshiped in one of the largest and most important temples of Vishnuism , the Shri Jagannath Temple . Together with his brother Balabhadra and his sister Subhadra, he forms a trimurti , a trinity. If Jagannatha Krishna , who according to the Hindu belief actually lived, Balabhadra represents Krishna's brother Balarama and Subhadra his sister. In Puri Jagannatha is now equated with Buddha and is depicted in his place, the place of the ninth avatar of Vishnu.
The Jagannath statue is made from the wood of the neem tree, which is sacred to Hindus . The head is exceptionally large with oversized eyes, while the body, painted with strong colors, is short and only rudimentary, with no legs and arms outstretched without hands. A rational reason for this unusual shape is not known, but several traditions deal with the background:
Various Puranas , the old Hindu books about the gods, report that Viswavasu, the king of a native people, originally worshiped Jagannatha as Nilamadhaba in a forest have.
The following oral version is popular: “King Indradyumna dreamed that the body of Krishna was washed up on the coast of Puri after his return to his heavenly kingdom, together with that of his brother Balarama and his sister Subhadra. A voice ordered that he should build a large temple with wooden statues and that Krishna's bones should be placed in a recess in the back of the image. The dream came true. The king found the bone fragments and gave them to an old carpenter who was none other than Vishwakarma, the divine architect. The latter asked that no one should disturb him during his work, but when, after a few months, the work was still not finished, the king opened the door impatiently and the mysterious old man disappeared immediately. So the king had the unfinished statues solemnly installed and consecrated in the temple. "
The Trimurti with Jagannatha is drawn in a procession on ropes through the city of Puri on three giant chariots ( Ratha ) once a year during the multi-day festival Ratha Yatra , which is known beyond the borders of India . Every year the three murtis , as Hindus call consecrated statues, are repainted before the great procession, the striking eyes are drawn by the priests during the service. Every twelve years the murtis are completely exchanged within a rite.
In the English language the loan word Juggernaut was adopted, which denigrates an " idol " or an "unstoppable idea that rolls everything down", allegedly the believers threw themselves in fanatical religious frenzy in front of the wheels of the "Juggernaut" in order to protect their god to sacrifice.
literature
- Anneliese and Peter Keilhauer: The Imagery of Hinduism. The Indian world of gods and their symbolism. 2nd edition DuMont, Cologne 1986, p. 105
- Hermann Kulke : Jagannātha cult and Gajapati kingship. A contribution to the history of religious legitimation of Hindu rulers. Steiner, Wiesbaden 1979
- Baba Mishra: Medieval Orissa and Cult of Jagannatha. South Asia Books, Columbia (Missouri) 1995, ISBN 978-81-7013-128-1
- Śarata Candra Pāṇigrāhī, Daityari Panda: The Cult and culture of Lord Jagannath. Bookland International, Mumbai 1984
- William Joseph Wilkens: Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Puranic. Thacker, Spink & Co., Calcutta / London 1882; New edition: Rupa & Co., Calcutta u. a. 1975, pp. 248-253 ( online at Internet Archive )
