Essence of Sri Jagannatha: His Mahapuja and Navakalebar

Jagatnath is the most important deity in Hindu religion. Jagat means the Universe and Natha means the ruler. Jagat Nath stands the Lord of the Universe. Lord Jagatnath is worshipped in an imposing temple about 300 feet high on the east coast of Bay of Bengal in the state of Odisha, India. The origin of this great temple is shrouded in mystery. The present temple is about a thousand years old. There were several temples previously at the same site. The worship of Lord Jagannath is the biggest in India and in the Hindu religion. The Lord is worshipped by about seven thousand servitors daily. His worship is performed at least seven times in a day. He is served with mahaprasad daily sufficient to feed about ten thousand persons, and twenty thousand devotees on festival days. The biggest festival is known as the rath yatra, meaning "chariot festival". This festival is held every year in June-July when about a million people assemble at Puri for pulling the ropes of Lord's chariot. Hindus have faith that whosoever beholds the Lord on the rath (chariot) he gets liberation from rebirth and attains salvation. Along with history and ritual, this book also describes the philosophical meaning of the deity, why He is described as the Lord of the Universe. His mythological history is discussed in detail. His worship throughout the day and night is presented. The book contains about 380 pages of in depth information and fifty color plates. The Lord, made of neem wood, takes new embodiment every sixteen to nineteen years. An elaborate ceremony called Nabakalevar is celebrated. This book describes this celebration in considerable detail as well. The last celebration was held in 2015 and was observed by more than a million people. The book contains about fifty color photographs of the Lord and his festivals. The book is almost equivalent to taking a journey to Puri for beholding the Lord, his festivals, and celebrations.