O Senhor Jagannatha, que é pesadíssimo, é carregado para o Seu respectivo carro antes de começar o festival de Ratha-yatra.
(foto 02) O magnífico e famosíssimo templo do Senhor Jagannatha em Puri.
(foto 03) O Simha-dvara, portão do leão, a entrada principal do templo.
(foto 04) Uma vista da avenida em frente ao templo do Senhor Jagannatha, onde acontece o festival de Ratha-yatra.
(foto 05) Aqui vemos a ante-sala do pequeno quarto onde o Senhor Caitanya morava. Seu quarto é chamado de Gambhira. Aqui Caitanya Mahaprabhu experimentou êxtases de sentimentos devocionais profundos, como os sentimentos de saudade de Krishna experimentados por Srimati Radharani.
(foto 06) Aqui vemos o samadhi de Srila Haridas Thakura. Thakura Haridas teve nascimento em família muçulmana, mas tornou um Maha-bhagavata Vaishnava, um devoto Vaishnava de primeira classe. Sri Caitanya nomeou-o de Nama-acharya, O Acharya dos Santos Nomes. Sua partida desse mundo foi gloriosa: Ele segurava os pés de lótus de Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Sri Caitanya, carregou, pessoalmente, o corpo de Haridas Thakura e fez os ritos de seu funeral. Depois disso Sri Caitanya, pessoalmente coletou lakshmi para promover um grande festival em honra a Seu devoto tão especial.
(foto 07) Esta é a Siddha Bakula. Debaixo dessa árvore, Sri Haridas Thakura fazia a meditação em sua japa. Seu sádhana diário era cantar 192 voltas de japa!!! (Para nós, as 16, muitas vezes, são tão penosas e demoradas...). Anos atrás eu colhi uns frutos maduros dessa árvore e trouxe as sementes para o Brasil. Algumas filhas da Sidha Bakula estão agora crescendo em Goura Vrindávana.
(foto 08) Encontramos, nas ruas de Jagannatha Puri, um grupo de meninos do gurukula de Mayapur acompanhados por seus professores.
(foto 09) Aqui é a casa de Sarvabhauma Battacharya, um grande devoto de Sri Caitanya, que era um dos mais proeminentes intelectuais da Índia naquela época. Por sete dias consecutivos, Sri Caitanya ouviu os discursos de Sarvabhauma sobre a filosofia Advaita Vedanta, também conhecida com Maya-vada ou impersonalismo, sem dar uma só palavra. Quando inquirido pelo pandita, Sri Caitanya, com poucas palavras derrotou sua filosofia e apresentou a Vedanta Vaishnava, a visão teísta do Vedanta. Sri Caitanya, então deu uma misericórdia especial para Sarvabhauma Battacharya e mostrou Sua forma divina muito particular, com seis braços (Shad-bhuja), em que os dois braços superiores seguram um arco e uma flexa e representam o Senhor Ramachandra; os dois braços intermediários seguram a flauta de Krishna; e os inferiores, seguram os símbolos da ordem de sannyasi, que representa o próprio Senhor Caitanya. Na foto, à direita, em baixo, está o assento de Sarvabhauma. À direita, é o local em que Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu exibiu Sua Shad-bhuja, forma transcendental de seis braços.
(foto 10) Outro importantíssimo local em Puri é o templo de Tota Gopinatha. Aqui vemos a deidade de Sri Tota Gopinatha, ladeado por Srimati Radharani (direita) e Srimati Lalita Devi. Sri Gadadhara Pandita, íntimo associado de Caitanya Mahaprabhu e um dos membros do Pancha-tattva, era o pujari das deidades até o final de sua vida. É dito que Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu encerrou Seus passatempos nesse mundo fundindo-se nessa deidade.
There are two interesting stories associated with this deity. First is the story of how Krishna appeared to a great devotee of the lord, King Indradyumna and ordered him to carve a deity from a log he would find washed up on the sea shore of Puri. He searched for a carpenter to make the deities. King Indradyumna found a mysterious old Brahmin carpenter who appeared and took the responsibility and took a few days to accomplish that. Surprisingly the carpenter insisted that he would not be disturbed while he was carving the deity and start working behind a closed door. Everyone including the King and his Queen were very much anxious and came every day to the closed door and there was sound of working. After 6-7 days of waiting anxiously outside his room, but after some time, all sound stopped. The impatient Indradyumna's Queen worried what had happened and assuming the worst, opened the doors - only to find the deity half-finished and the carpenter vanished! The mysterious carpenter was none other than Vishvakarma, the heavenly architect. The king was distraught as the deity had no arms and legs. Utterly repentant that he had interrupted the carving, the king was only pacified when the muni (sage) called Narada appeared and explained that the form the king now sees is a legitimate form of the supreme personality of godhead. The second story here was narrated to further explain and remove any doubts and confusion.
The second reason for Lord Jagannath's appearance is the story of how Krishna was eavesdropping on the gopis as they spoke amongst themselves of His pastimes, and how much they loved him. Sister Subhadra was instructed to keep watch and ensure Krishna wasn't nearby while the gopis spoke of Krishna. But after a while Subhadra was so overwhelmed by the gopis' devotion and their stories that she became completely engrossed in listening. She didn't see the brothers Krishna and Balarama approaching. As the brothers listened their hairs stood on end, their arms retracted, their eyes grew larger and larger, and they smiled broadly in ecstasy. That is why Jagannath, Balarama and Subhadra look like they do.
This form is worshiped by Vaishnavas as the abstract form of Krishna. The deities - Jagannath, Balabhadra (Balarama) and Subhadra (Krishna's sister) are usually worshipped in the temple, but once in every Asadha Masa (Rainy Season, usually June or July), they are brought out onto the main high street of Puri and travel (3 km) to the Mausimaa Temple, allowing the public to have Darshan (holy view) of the deities as they pass. This festival is known as Ratha Yatra. The Rath carts themselves are huge wooden structures built new every year and are pulled by the millions of pilgrims who turn up for the event from all parts of the Globe. The festival commemorates Krishna's return to His home in Vrindavan after a long period of separation from the people there.
The Temple of Lord Jagannath is one of the major temples in India. The worship of Lord Jaganatha is so ancient that there is no accurate record of how long it has been going on. It is strictly forbidden for non-Hindus to enter the Jaganatha temple. The temple known as Shrimandira to the devout is built in Kalinga style of architecture.It consists of a tall shikhara (dome) housing the 'sanctum sanctorum' (garbhagriha). A pillar made of fossilized wood is used for placing lamps as offering. The lion gate (Singhadwara) is the main gate to the temple, guarded by two guardian deities Jaya and Vijaya. A memorial column known as Aruna Stambha faces the main gate. This column was brought here by the Raja of Khurda from the sun temple of Konarak.
Once a year, Jaganatha, along with his brother Baladeva, and sister Subhadra, are taken out of the temple and pulled on huge chariots through the streets of Puri. It is from these huge chariots that the English word 'juggernaut' originates.[2] Millions of devotees from a variety of different traditions attend this festival every year, including the King of Puri, who sweeps the path in front of Lord Jaganatha cart.
There are many more Jagannath Temples all over India. One of the lesser known temple is in Kurseong in Darjeeling District in North of West Bengal. This temple is as old as almost 300 years. This very old temple also organises the Rath Yatra along with the Rath Yatra of Puri.
  Jagannath (Right) Balabhadra (Left) and Subhadra (Center) | A smaller sized altar, with Jagannatha, Balabhadra and Subhadra deities |  Rath Yatra (Car Festival) in Bhubaneswar |  Rath Yatra festival in New York City organized by ISKCON |
 Rath Yatra being observed in Bangalore |
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