History of the Jagannath Temple
The present temple was built in the 12th century under the Eastern Ganga king Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva, and enlarged in the 15th and 16th centuries. Its origins before that are told mainly through temple tradition. This page keeps the two clearly apart.
How to read this page
Statements are marked where the distinction matters:
- Historical record supported by inscriptions, official records or scholarship
- Temple tradition preserved through Jagannath tradition and temple texts
- Devotional belief held by devotees as a matter of faith
The legend of Nila Madhaba and King Indradyumna Temple tradition
The best-known origin story is told in the Purushottama Mahatmya of the Skanda Purana and in later Odia works. King Indradyumna of Malwa, a devotee of Vishnu, learned that the Lord was worshipped in secret in a forest as Nila Madhaba. His priest Vidyapati found the shrine of the Sabara chief Viswavasu, but when the king arrived the image had disappeared.
The king was told that the Lord would come instead as a log of sacred wood (daru) from the sea. An old carpenter offered to carve the deities if no one opened his workshop for 21 days. When Queen Gundicha grew anxious and the doors were opened early, the carpenter had vanished, leaving the images in the form worshipped today. The Gundicha Temple, destination of the Rath Yatra, is named after her.
The temple administration's own account also preserves the tradition that Indradyumna built a huge temple in ancient times, and records, citing the temple chronicle (the Madala Panji), that Yayati Keshari of the Soma dynasty built an earlier temple.
Temple account: SJTA: Shreemandira (main temple complex). Checked 2 October 2026.
What the evidence does and does not establish. These are sacred narratives. Historians agree that worship of Jagannath (or Purushottama) at Puri is older than the present building, but they differ on its origins, and the available evidence does not establish the details of the legend.
The Ganga kings build the present temple Historical record
The temple administration states that the temple was built during the rule of Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva, founder of the Ganga dynasty, in the first part of the 12th century, and that this is established from epigraphic (inscriptional) records. The Vimana (sanctum tower) and the Jagamohana (porch) date from this period.
Later halls were added on the same axis: the Natamandapa and Bhogamandapa, according to the administration, during the reigns of King Purushottama Deva (1461 to 1495) and King Prataprudra Deva (1495 to 1532).
Source: SJTA: Architecture; SJTA: Shreemandira (main temple complex). Checked 2 October 2026.
Historians of Odisha, notably in the collected studies edited by Eschmann, Kulke and Tripathi, have described how the Ganga and later Gajapati kings came to present themselves as servants or deputies of Jagannath, an idea still seen at the Rath Yatra when the Gajapati sweeps the chariots in the Chhera Pahanra ritual.
Timeline
- 12th century
Present temple built
Under Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva; Vimana and Jagamohana built. Historical record
- 1461 to 1532
Halls added
Natamandapa and Bhogamandapa added under Purushottama Deva and Prataprudra Deva. Historical record
- 16th century
Sri Chaitanya in Puri
The Bengali saint spends his later years in Puri, making it a centre of Gaudiya Vaishnava devotion.
- 16th to 18th century
Attacks and hidden deities
The temple was attacked several times in this period. Temple tradition Temple tradition speaks of the deities being hidden to protect them, and of a devotee rescuing the sacred inner substance after the raid associated with Kalapahad in the 16th century.
- Late 18th century
Aruna Stambha moved
According to the temple chronicle, the pillar was brought from the Konark Sun Temple by the Maratha-era ascetic Brahmachari Gosain and re-erected before the Lion Gate.
- 1803
British rule
Odisha comes under the East India Company, which takes a role in the temple's administration during the colonial period.
- 1955
Temple law
The Shri Jagannath Temple Act provides for the present temple administration.
- 1975 and 1979
National Monument
Declared a National Monument in 1975; conservation entrusted to the Archaeological Survey of India by an agreement of 22 August 1979. Historical record
- 17 January 2024
Heritage corridor opens
The Shree Jagannath Heritage Corridor (Srimandir Parikrama) around the outer wall is inaugurated.
- 13 June 2024
All four gates reopened
The three gates closed since the COVID-19 pandemic are reopened for devotees, as reported by the national press.
- 14 July 2024
Ratna Bhandar opened
The temple treasury is opened for inventory and repairs for the first time since 1978.
Sources for the timeline: SJTA: Architecture; Wikipedia: Aruna Stambha; Wikipedia: Shree Jagannath Heritage Corridor, Puri; National Herald (PTI): All four gates of Puri Jagannath temple reopened for devotees (13 June 2024); The Tribune: Ratna Bhandar of Puri’s Jagannath temple reopened after 46 years (14 July 2024). Checked 2 October 2026.
Architecture
The temple is a major example of the Kalinga style of Odisha. The temple administration describes four components built in a row along an east-west axis: the Vimana (sanctum, a curvilinear rekha deula), the Jagamohana (porch, a tiered pidha deula), the Natamandapa (audience hall) and the Bhogamandapa (hall of offerings). The temple stands on a pancharatha plan, with five projections on each side.
| Structure | Form | Built |
|---|---|---|
| Vimana (Bada Deula) | Rekha deula | 12th century |
| Jagamohana | Pidha deula | 12th century |
| Natamandapa | Audience hall | Added 1461 to 1532 |
| Bhogamandapa | Hall for offerings | Added 1461 to 1532 |
Walls and gates
Two concentric walls enclose the complex: the outer Meghanada Prachira (665 ft × 640 ft) and the inner Kurma Prachira (420 ft × 315 ft). Four gates face the four directions: Singhadwara (east), Ashwadwara (south), Vyaghradwara (west) and Hastidwara (north). Inside the complex, the administration lists hundreds of subsidiary shrines and mandapas, two gardens (Koili Baikuntha and Nilachala Upabana), seven wells, the Ananda Bazar, the kitchen and a sacred banyan tree.
Source: SJTA: Architecture; SJTA: Shreemandira (main temple complex). Checked 2 October 2026.
The Nila Chakra and the flag
The top of the main tower carries the Nila Chakra, a metal wheel, and a flag that is changed every day by servitors who climb the tower. Devotional belief Many devotees consider seeing the wheel and flag from outside to be a form of darshan.
Shrines within the complex
Among the subsidiary shrines are those of Vimala and Mahalakshmi. Temple tradition In temple tradition, food offered to Jagannath becomes Mahaprasad after it is also offered to Vimala.
The temple today
The temple is managed by the Shree Jagannatha Temple Administration (SJTA) under the Shri Jagannath Temple Act. Daily rituals are carried out by hereditary servitor families, and conservation of the structure is the responsibility of the Archaeological Survey of India. The rhythm of daily rituals and of festivals such as Rath Yatra and Nabakalebara continues.
Common questions
Who built the Jagannath Temple in Puri?
The temple administration states that the present temple was built during the rule of Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva, founder of the Eastern Ganga dynasty, in the first part of the 12th century. The Natamandapa and Bhogamandapa were added later, under Purushottama Deva and Prataprudra Deva.
How tall is the Jagannath Temple?
About 214 feet 8 inches from road level, according to the temple administration.
Why are the deities not fully carved?
Temple tradition explains this with the story of King Indradyumna: the divine carpenter asked that his workshop stay closed for 21 days, and when it was opened early he vanished, leaving the images as they are. This is a sacred narrative, not a documented event.