jaõa-patha (‘braided text’)

A form of recitation of the Veda involv-

ing a reverse reading.

jagad-guru (‘world teacher’)

Title assumed by the Ÿaökaräcäryas, the

ruling heads of the Ÿaökara maflhas.

(See alsoŸA¢KARA(2).)

jaga-mohan

Place of assembly of worshippers at a

Hindu temple.

Jagan-nätha Purï

One of the four holiest places of India,

on the east coast in the state of Orissa,

visited by millions of Hindus every year.

A pilgrimage to Purï is believed to liber-

ate a person from the round of rebirths.

The focus of attention is the huge Jagan-

nätha (‘Lord of the World’) temple

dedicated to Vi•æu, built during the

reign of Anantavarman Choda Ganga

(1076–1148), in which 6,000 priests

and attendants serve. The most popular

feast is the ratha-yäträin June. A huge

canopied car (15 m high, 12 m square)

on which Kø•æa is enthroned, is pulled

through the streets on thick ropes by

hundreds of pilgrims. (The English

word ‘juggernaut’ is a corrupt form of

Jagan-nätha.) The feast commemorates

Kø•æa’s journey from GOKULA to

MATHURÄ. The main chariot is followed

J

The famous ratha (car) festival in Jagan-nätha Puri: The images of the deities are

carried in huge, temple-shaped chariots through the town.

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