Description

Jagannath (Sanskrit: , ISO: Jagannātha; lit. ”lord of the universe”) is a deity worshipped in regional traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism in India and Bangladesh. Jagannath is considered a form of Vishnu.He is part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra. To most Vaishnava Hindus, Jagannath is an abstract representation of Krishna; to some Shaiva and Shakta Hindus, he is a symmetry-filled tantric representation of Bhairava; to some Buddhists, he is a symbolic representation of the Buddha in the Buddha-Sangha-Dhamma triad; to some Jains, his name and his festive rituals are derived from Jeenanath of Jainism tradition. * “Jagannath” is a compound word from Sanskrit, consisting of “Jagat” and “Nath”. The word nath means “Master, Lord” (nātha) while jagan or jagat means the “universe”. Thus, Jagannath means “lord of the universe”. * Jagannath is considered an avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu.Others consider him equivalent to the Hindu metaphysical concept of Brahman, wherein he then is the Avatarī, i.e., the cause and equivalence of all avatars and the infinite existence in space and time. * Outside of Vaishnava tradition, Jagannath is considered the epitome of Tantric worship.The symmetry in iconography, the use of mandalas and geometric patterns in its rites support the tantric connection proposal. Jagannath is venerated as Bhairava or Lord Shiva, the consort of Goddess Vimala, by Shaivites and Shakta sects.The priests of Jagannath Temple at Puri belong to the Shakta sect, although the Vaishnava sect’s influence predominates.As part of the triad, Balabhadra is also considered to be Shiva and Subhadra, a manifestation of Durga or Laksmi. In the Markandeya Purana the sage Markandeya declared that Purushottama Jagannath and Shiva are one.Jagannath in his Hathi Besha (elephant form) has been venerated by devotees like Ganapati Bhatta of Maharashtra as the God Ganesh.