Jagganath Temple

*posted by Abhrajeet

Puri: the land of Jagganath, the all encompassing, all knowing, and all powerful. According to my Dadu, hundreds of years ago the king of Orissa had a dream that Vishnu would come to his lands from the sea in a piece of holy bark. The king immediately ordered his court to go search for this piece of bark along the oceans. At last, the holy bark was found and brought back to Puri, and around it was built one of the most awesome sites of religious worship in India: the Jagganath Temple.

The temple of Jagganath is so ancient and orthodox that non-Hindus and those not of Indian descent are forbidden to enter the complex. For this reason, Katie was taken around some other parts of Puri by my uncle, while Arny, Thampu and I traversed the temple’s awesome complex. For years my Thampu had been wanting to make this pilgrimage – the Jagganath Temple is said to be one of the four holiest sites in India, and it’s essential that the devout Hindu makes a pilgrimage there at least once in life.

There was no doubt an incredible spiritual presence in this place, despite all the idiotic hustler pandas who try to take everyone’s money by claiming spiritual wisdom. I was initially extremely worried about my grandmother walking up and down the massive steps of the temple – she had only recently had a stent put in and could barely walk five straight minutes without resting prior to our departure from the U.S. Incredibly, Thampu continuously walked up and down the massive temple steps and through the various temple rooms for over an hour and a half, not once complaining about anything. The old, strong Thampu who had raised my brother and I was back and in perfect form.

At last, we arrived in the main part of the temple, the room which contained the murtis of Jagganath, his brother Balarama, and his sister Subhadra. As the barrier blocking the room entrance was lifted, a swarm of Hindu devotees surged past where my brother, grandmother and I were standing, pushing, shoving, and generally being assholes. I stood behind my grandmother like a rock, shielding her from the chaotic rush of devotees, while she hilariously yelled and pushed random people in front of her. Finally, we entered the room and were able to have our Darshan of Jagganath. It was clear that my Thampu had been given a new energy following the Darshan. Arny and I were just relieved that we were all ok, and sat with my grandmother watching the temple monkeys frolic for a few more minutes before heading back to find Katie and my uncle outside the temple walls. We will never forget the strange but healing experience we all shared in this ancient house of Vishnu.

Hare, hare!

Abhrajeet

P.S. We couldn't take pictures inside the temple itself, so here 's a snapshot from the surrounding area - notice the cows. Oh yeah.

panda – self proclaimed priest

Darshan – holy view

murti – statue or idol