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Jagannath Temple, Puri

The Jagannath temple at Puri, in Orissa on the Bay

of Bengal, is one of the most famous in India. Lord

Jaggannath (Lord of the Universe) is a form of

KRISHNA. Each year in the bright half of the lunar

month of Ashadha (June–July) he is honored in a

huge festival. The image of Jagannath is placed in

a massive temple cart, 45 feet in height with 16

wheels, each seven feet high. Behind him in con-

veyances nearly as high are his brother, BALARAMA,

and his sister, Subhadra, images constructed by

youth of the area. (The English word juggernaut

derives from the name Jagannath, as associated

with these massive conveyances.)

Further reading: Anncharlott Eschmann, Hermann

Kulke, and Gaya Charan Tirupathi, The Cult of Jagan-

nath and the Regional Tradition of Orissa (New Delhi:

Manohar, 1978); Chris Fuller, The Camphor Flame:

Popular Hinduism and Society in India (Princeton, N.J.:

Princeton University Press, 1993).

jagrat (jagarita) See STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS.

Jaimini (c. 200 B.C.E.) Indian philosopher

Jaimini is one of the great philosophers of the

MIMAMSA tradition. His Mimamsa Sutras was a

complete exposition of the views of one school of

Mimamsa; he argued against other schools, which

are no longer extant. Mimamsa is a basis for the

Vedic ritualistic worldview (see VEDA), and the for-

mation of the Hindu tradition in general. No bio-

graphical information about Jaimini has survived.

Further reading: S. N. Dasgupta, History of Indian Phi-

losophy. Vol. 1 (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1975).

Jain festivals

True to their more austere nature and image, the

festivals of the Jains (see JAINISM) are much less

exuberant celebrations than those of the Hindus.

Jains in fact distance themselves from the more

raucous festivals of Hinduism such as HOLI.

One of their religious days is devoted entirely to

silence—Maun Ekadashi, or the eleventh of the

month. This observance is celebrated in the bright

part of the lunar month Margashirsha (Novem-

ber–December). It should be noted that there are

also Hindu festivals, such as the Magha Mela at

Prayag (ALLAHABAD), which are observed with

vows of silence.

Both the DIGAMBARA and the SHVETAMBARA

Jain communities observe the birthday of MAHA-

VIRA (Mahavira Jayanti). which takes place in the

J