Jagannath Ji

Jagannath, "Lord of the Universe," is a form of Vishnu and Krishna worshipped at Puri, Odisha, alongside his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra, one of the Char Dham and among the most distinctive deity images in Hinduism.

His name joins jagat, "universe," with nātha, "lord" or "master." He is worshipped as an aspect of Krishna within Odia Vaishnavism specifically, distinct in form and ritual from Krishna worship elsewhere in India.

His image is a carved and painted wooden stump with large round eyes and a symmetrical face, and conspicuously without visible hands or legs, an aniconic style unlike almost any other major Hindu deity image. The wooden murtis of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra are ritually replaced with newly carved images at intervals in the Nabakalebara ceremony.

Legend holds that the original deity at Puri was Nila Madhava, a form of Vishnu, who disappeared; King Indradyumna was then instructed in a dream to carve new images from a sacred log that would wash ashore, giving rise to the present forms of Jagannath and his siblings.

Worshipped as a form of Krishna, and so of Vishnu, together with his elder brother Balabhadra (identified with Balarama) and younger sister Subhadra, the three sharing the sanctum and all major rituals together.

His annual Ratha Yatra, in which massive wooden chariots carrying the three deities are pulled through the streets of Puri by enormous crowds, is one of the largest and most widely known festivals in Hinduism, celebrated in Jagannath temples and diaspora communities worldwide.

His worship is centred on Puri, Odisha, where it forms a distinct strand of Vaishnavism with its own ritual calendar and temple customs; Jagannath temples and Ratha Yatra celebrations modelled on Puri's now exist across India and internationally.