Puri:The White Pagoda
One of the Char Dham’s (Four sacred places) of India.
The Jagannath temple, dedicated to Jagannath, a form of Lord Vishnu, is one of the most revered and visited temples in Odisha. People worship a trio of deities in this temple: Lord Jagannath, his brother Lord Balabhadra, and their sister Devi Subhadra.
History Since 1161
The temple was rebuilt by the Ganga dynasty king Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva in the 12th Century.
The word Jagannath is a combination of 2 words ‘Jagat’ + ‘Nath’, where Jagat means universe, and Nath means lord. So, Jagannath means The Lord of the Universe. Puri temple is very popular for its annual Rath Yatra. During this yatra, all the three deities are pulled on huge and highly decorative temple cars. The image of the Jagannath is made of wood and this is replaced every 12 or 19 years in the exact form. For all the Hindus Puri temple is a very sacred one, especially for the Vaishnava tradition.