A Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism Klaus K Klostermaie
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J<br />
jaõa-patha<br />
(‘braided text’)<br />
A form <strong>of</strong> recitation <strong>of</strong> the Veda involving<br />
a reverse reading.<br />
jagad-guru (‘world teacher’)<br />
Title assumed by the Ÿaökaräcäryas, the<br />
ruling heads <strong>of</strong> the Ÿaökara maflhas.<br />
(See also ŸA¢KARA (2).)<br />
jaga-mohan<br />
Place <strong>of</strong> assembly <strong>of</strong> worshippers at a<br />
Hindu temple.<br />
Jagan-nätha Purï<br />
One <strong>of</strong> the four holiest places <strong>of</strong> India,<br />
on the east coast in the state <strong>of</strong> Orissa,<br />
visited by millions <strong>of</strong> Hindus every year.<br />
A pilgrimage to Purï is believed to liberate<br />
a person from the round <strong>of</strong> rebirths.<br />
The focus <strong>of</strong> attention is the huge Jagannätha<br />
(‘Lord <strong>of</strong> the World’) temple<br />
dedicated to Vi•æu, built during the<br />
reign <strong>of</strong> Anantavarman Choda Ganga<br />
(1076–1148), in which 6,000 priests<br />
and attendants serve. The most popular<br />
feast is the ratha-yäträ in June. A huge<br />
canopied car (15 m high, 12 m square)<br />
on which Kø•æa is enthroned, is pulled<br />
through the streets on thick ropes by<br />
hundreds <strong>of</strong> pilgrims. (The English<br />
word ‘juggernaut’ is a corrupt form <strong>of</strong><br />
Jagan-nätha.) The feast commemorates<br />
Kø•æa’s journey from GOKULA to<br />
MATHURÄ. The main chariot is followed<br />
The famous ratha (car) festival in Jagan-nätha Puri: The images <strong>of</strong> the deities are<br />
carried in huge, temple-shaped chariots through the town.
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