PURI

You have read about God Krishna before. Balarama was his elder brother and Subhadra, his sister.

Balarama was a famous warrior. His favourite weapon was the plough. He used it with terrible effect.

Subhadra married Arjuna, the Pandava Prince. Their son was Abhimanyu.

In the ancient temple of Jagannath at Puri, the images of all the three gods Krishna, Balarama and Subhadra are worshipped.

Krishna is called Jagannath, or Lord of the world.

The three images in Puri are all made of wood.

The Jagannath temple is very big. Its tower is 192 feet high.

This is how the temple came to be built.

King Indradyumna ruled in Puri long, long ago. He performed a great sacrifice. God appeared in his dream and said, "In the morning go down to the sea. A big tree will come floating on the waves. From the trunk of that tree, make an image of me and set it up in the temple for worship.”

The tree came floating, as foretold. The king carved three images out of the trunk. Then he built the great temple for the worship of these idols. This temple has been famous from very ancient times. It is open to all.

Many festivals are held here. The best known festival is the Rathotsava or chariot festival.

People from all parts of the country attend this festival and see the image of Jagannath carried in procession.

Jagannath’s chariot is very large. It is 45 feet high and 35 feet broad. It has six giant wheels.

People in thousands draw this car with giant ropes, shouting "Jagannath-ki-jai! "

The prince and the pauper eat the temple prasad from the same hand.

Great saints like Kabir and Chaitanya have lived in this city.