Shree Jagannath Temple, Puri

ଶ୍ରୀ ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ ମନ୍ଦିର

Jagannath · Mahaprabhu

Puri, Odisha · Vaishnava tradition

Puri is one of the four Char Dham, alongside Badrinath, Dwarka and Rameswaram.

The story begins: “For most of the year, Jagannath is reached by going to him: into the temple, through its courts, to the sanctum.”

Read the story
Directions

At the gate

Getting there
Train: Puri railway stationAir: Biju Patnaik International Airport, Bhubaneswar

Not yet confirmed: darshan hours, dress code, phone rules, entry for visitors of other faiths, walking distance. Ask at the temple office or enquiry counter — and if you know, tell us. hello@aalayakatha.com

Full visiting details

Sthala purana

The story of this place

Told in: Odisha Tourism's account of the Ratha Jatra, published by the Government of Odisha

The journey to the aunt's house

For most of the year, Jagannath is reached by going to him: into the temple, through its courts, to the sanctum. Once a year that is reversed. The god and his siblings come out.

The festival begins after Deba Snana Purnima, the bathing festival. On the day of the Rath Yatra, Jagannath, his elder brother Balabhadra and his sister Subhadra are brought out of the Sri Jagannath Temple and into the street. Three chariots wait for them, each built by hand for the occasion and each nearly 45 feet tall. Nandighosha is Jagannath's. Taladhwaja is Balabhadra's. Darpadalana is Subhadra's.

Before anyone pulls a rope, the king acts. The Gajapati Maharaja of Puri — in Odisha Tourism's words the temple's foremost servitor — sweeps the chariot platforms with a golden broom. The ritual is the Chhera Pahanra, and its point is humility: the king comes to the god as a sweeper.

Then the chariots move. Thousands of devotees take hold of the ropes and haul them along the Bada Danda, the grand road of Puri, to the Gundicha temple. Tradition calls Gundicha the deities' aunt's home, and holds it to be Jagannath's birthplace.

The three stay at Gundicha for a week. Then comes the Bahuda Yatra, the return journey, and after it the Suna Besha, when the deities appear in golden attire, with ornaments the state puts at over 200 kilograms of gold.

The festival explains things a visitor to Puri can see on any day of the year: the Bada Danda running out from the temple, the Gundicha temple at its far end, and the Gajapati's place in the temple's ritual as its foremost servitor.

Where this account comes from

  • Government: Odisha Tourism, "The Divine Journey of Rath Yatra: Where Faith Moves on Wheels" (Ratha Jatra 2025) odishatourism.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09

In one minute

Why Shree Jagannath Temple, Puri matters

Each line says who it comes from and how settled it is. What the labels mean

  1. Every year Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra leave the temple and are drawn through Puri on three hand-built chariots — Nandighosha, Taladhwaja and Darpadalana — to the Gundicha temple.

    Source for: Every year Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra leave the temple and are drawn thr
    • Government: Odisha Tourism, "The Divine Journey of Rath Yatra: Where Faith Moves on Wheels" (Ratha Jatra 2025) odishatourism.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09

  2. The Gajapati Maharaja of Puri, the temple's foremost servitor, sweeps the chariot platforms with a golden broom before the chariots move.

    Source for: The Gajapati Maharaja of Puri, the temple's foremost servitor, sweeps the chario
    • Government: Odisha Tourism, "The Divine Journey of Rath Yatra: Where Faith Moves on Wheels" (Ratha Jatra 2025) odishatourism.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09

  3. Puri is one of the four Char Dham, alongside Badrinath, Dwarka and Rameswaram.

    Source for: Puri is one of the four Char Dham, alongside Badrinath, Dwarka and Rameswaram.
    • Government: Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, Incredible India: Dwarkadhish Temple incredibleindia.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09

Shilpa

When you visit, look for…

Kalinga

The temple is conventionally placed in the Kalinga (Odishan) tradition. No ASI, academic or official architectural study confirming this has been found yet.

  • Detail

    The Bada Danda

    The grand road outside the temple along which the three chariots are hauled to the Gundicha temple during the Rath Yatra.

    Where to stand: On the Bada Danda outside the temple.

  • Detail

    The three chariots (at Rath Yatra)

    Nandighosha (Jagannath), Taladhwaja (Balabhadra) and Darpadalana (Subhadra), each hand-built and nearly 45 feet tall, drawn up before the temple for the festival.

    Built afresh for the festival

    approximate height of each Rath Yatra chariot: 45 ft
    • Government: Odisha Tourism, "The Divine Journey of Rath Yatra: Where Faith Moves on Wheels" (Ratha Jatra 2025) odishatourism.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09

  • Detail

    The Gundicha temple

    The temple at the far end of the Bada Danda where the deities stay for a week during the Rath Yatra; tradition calls it their aunt's home and Jagannath's birthplace.

Yatra

Plan your visit

Darshan times

We could not confirm the opening times from the temple’s own notice, so we are not printing any. Please check with the temple office or the devasthanam before you travel.

Before you go

  • Entry: Entry is for Hindus only (not yet verified)
  • The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration states that it never accepts donations or offerings for online puja, and warns devotees against fraudulent sites offering such services.

Walking, steps and access

We have not yet confirmed how much walking or climbing is involved, or whether there is wheelchair access. If you are travelling with elders, ask at the temple office or the devasthanam enquiry counter before you set out.

Crowds: The Rath Yatra brings thousands of devotees onto the Bada Danda to pull the chariots.

Getting there

  • By air: Biju Patnaik International Airport, Bhubaneswar
  • By train: Puri railway station
  • By road: BhubaneswarBy road from Bhubaneswar.

Routes are general guidance and not yet checked against an official source.

PIN 752001 (not yet checked with India Post)

The order of darshan

No published source gives the order in which to visit the shrines here, so we have not invented one. Follow the queue and the temple staff.

Festivals

  • Rath YatraRatha Jatra

    Jun–Jul · Ashadha, Shukla paksha, Dwitiya

    Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra are drawn on three chariots to the Gundicha temple, stay a week, and return in the Bahuda Yatra; in 2025 the festival fell on 27 June with the return on 5 July.

  • Deba Snana Purnima

    June

    The bathing festival of the deities that precedes the Rath Yatra; in 2025 it fell on 11 June.

  • Suna Besha

    July, after the Bahuda Yatra

    The deities appear in golden attire with ornaments of over 200 kilograms of gold; in 2025 it was held on 6 July.

Itihasa

Through time

Two registers, kept apart on purpose: what the Puranas tell, and what the historical record shows. They answer different questions and we do not force them to agree.

In the Puranas and tradition

No events in this register have been sourced.

In the historical record

  1. c. 1112–1150

    Present temple begun under the Eastern Gangas

    The present temple is attributed to Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva of the Eastern Ganga dynasty, in the twelfth century. Not yet verified from a primary or academic source.

  2. 1955

    Shri Jagannath Temple Act

    The Shri Jagannath Temple Act, 1955 vested administration in a managing committee headed by the Gajapati Maharaja. Not yet verified from the Act's text.

  3. 2015

    Nabakalebara

    The wooden images of the deities were replaced in the Nabakalebara rite. Not yet verified from an official or press source.

Around here

Worth the detour

  • Temple

    Gundicha temple

    The deities' destination in the Rath Yatra, at the far end of the Bada Danda.

  • Temple

    Konark Sun Temple

    The 13th-century Sun Temple and World Heritage Site, in the same district.

  • Temple

    Lingaraj Temple, Bhubaneswar

    The principal Shiva temple of Bhubaneswar, the nearest airport city.

Sources

Where this page comes from

  • Government: Odisha Tourism, "The Divine Journey of Rath Yatra: Where Faith Moves on Wheels" (Ratha Jatra 2025) odishatourism.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09
  • Temple administration: Shree Jagannath Temple Administration, Puri, Home (online puja notice) shreejagannatha.in · seen 2026-10-09
  • Government: Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, Incredible India: Dwarkadhish Temple incredibleindia.gov.in · seen 2026-10-09

Cite this page

Aalaya Katha Foundation, “Shree Jagannath Temple, Puri”, Aalaya Katha, version last reviewed 2026-10-09. https://www.aalayakatha.com/temple/jagannath-puri (accessed ).

Last reviewed 2026-10-09. How we label sources and confidence