Jagannatha shrine
Not on view
This shrine is in the form of a triptych dedicated to the Vishnu emanation of Jagannatha, ‘Lord of the Universe,’ a form of Krishna (fig. 1). It served as a devotional setting for the veneration of a much-loved Krishna ensemble, consisting of Lord Jagannatha, his half-brother Balabhadra), and his foster-sister Subhadra. Together they form a holy triad, distinguished by body color, with Jagannatha (Krishna the ‘dark Lord’), shown with a black complexion, Balabhadra white and Subhadra a light color. They became the focus of a major center of Krishna worship, and the temple dedicated to them at Puri, Odisha, in coastal eastern India, assumed the status of one of the four great pilgrimage centers (dham) of Hinduism, a required destination for all devout Hindus. Puri thus attracted vast numbers of pilgrims from all over India to its Jagannatha temple.
