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Re: The religious meaning of ``Jagannatha''
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To: soc-religion-hindu@uunet.uu.net
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Subject: Re: The religious meaning of ``Jagannatha''
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From: Vijay Sadananda Pai <vijaypai@ece.rice.edu>
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Date: Thu, 18 Jan 1996 09:47:39 -0600
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Newsgroups: soc.religion.hindu
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Organization: Rice University, Houston, Texas
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References: <4d72sq$8de@babbage.ece.uc.edu> <4df335$6b9@babbage.ece.uc.edu> <4dks93$khi@babbage.ece.uc.edu>
Mani Varadarajan wrote:
> In article <4df335$6b9@babbage.ece.uc.edu> dchakrav@netserv.unmc.edu (Dhruba Chakravarti) writes:
> > Jagannatha is not a
> > representation of Lord Vishnu, but simply the Lord of the World.
> It is universally acknowledged that the Jagannath temple
> in Puri is a Vishnu temple.
This is confirmed further in many ways associated with that
temple
1) Lord Jagannatha's vigraha can only be carved from a
tree bearing the "birthmarks" of conch, disc, mace, and
lotus -- the symbols of Lord Vishnu
2) His hands have the marks of the conch and disc on them
3) Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhadra are always accompanied
by Sudarshana (even on Ratha Yatra)
4) In the Jagannathastakam sung at the temple and at Ratha Yatra
you see lines like
"ramaa-shambhu-brahmaamarapati-gaNeshaarcita-pado" :
His lotus feet are worshipped by Laksmi, Shiva,
Brahma, Indra, and Ganesha
"daya-sindhur bandhuh sakala-jagataaM sindhu-sutaaya"
Lord Jagannatha, the ocean of mercy, accompanied
by his consort, the daughter of the ocean (which
refers to Laksmi, the consort of Vishnu)
"sadaa sadaa kaale pramatha-patina giita-charito"
Lord Shiva always sings His glories
etc, and that song also refers to Him as "sura-pate",
"yadava-pate", to His beloved as Raadhaa, and to His playing
a flute by the banks of the Yamuna.
> If Jagannatha is Isvara, he can be none other than Lord Vishnu,
> as only the latter is praised as the creator, nourisher, and
> destroyer of the world in the Vedas.
> Mani
Yours,
Vijay
