Jagannath

Jagannath (Odia: ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ, romanized: Jagannātha, lit. 'Lord of the Universe'; formerly English: Juggernaut) is a deity worshipped in regional Hindu traditions in India and Bangladesh as part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra, and sister, Subhadra. Jagannath, within Odia Hinduism, is the supreme god, Purushottama, and the Para Brahman. To most Vaishnava Hindus, particularly the Krishnaites, Jagannath is an abstract representation of Krishna, or Vishnu, sometimes as the avatar of Krishna or Vishnu. To some Shaiva and Shakta Hindus, he is a symmetry-filled tantric form of Bhairava, a fierce manifestation of Shiva associated with annihilation. The Jagannathism (a.k.a. Odia Vaishnavism) — the particular sector of Jagannath as a major deity — emerged in the Early Middle Ages and later became an independent state regional temple-centered tradition of Krishnaism/Vaishnavism. The idol ...