The BJP won big in Odisha in both the Lok Sabha as well as assembly elections, decimating the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) that ruled the state for almost a quarter of a century.

In its electoral promise, the BJP had said it will open all four gates of Puri’s Jagannath Temple for devotees once it came to power. And it did.

Thursday saw all four gates of the mighty 12th Century temple, which were shut since the Covid-19 pandemic, opened for public.

Due to closure of three doors of the shrine except the ‘Singhadwara’ (Lion Gate), devotees were facing a lot of hardships in the darshan of the ‘Holy Trinity’. Ashwa Dwara (Horse Gate), Vyaghra Dwara (Tiger Gate), Hasti Dwara (Elephant Gate) remained shut until Thursday.

At his first Cabinet meeting, chief minister Mohan Majhi cited the inconvenience caused to the devotees by the shutting of the four doors. He also announced Rs 500 crore for temple beautification and repair.

What is the Significance of Four Doors?

The outer wall of the temple has four gates, which open in four different directions. These four gates are represented by four animals.

In the east, there are lions and hence it is called Lion Gate or ‘Singhadwara’. The west direction is represented by tigers and hence it is called Tiger Gate or ‘Vyaghradwara’. The northern direction of the temple wall is represented by elephants. So, it is named as Elephant Gate or ‘Hastidwara’. The southern direction, represented by horses, is known as Horse Gate or ‘Ashvadwara’.

Singhadwara: The two lion statues on ‘Singhadwara’ in a crouching position symbolises ‘Mokshya’ (liberation). It is named after the Narasimha avatar (incarnation) of Lord Vishnu. Jagannath is also considered an avatar of Lord Vishnu. As per popular belief, if a devotee enters the temple through this gate, he/she will get ‘mokshya’.

Ashvadwara: Horse symbolically represents ‘Kama’ or lust. There are two galloping horses with Jagannath and Balabhadra on their back in the martial glory near the door. As per the legend, the devotee sacrifices the feeling of lust while entering through this gate. It is also known as the road of victory. The kings used to enter the temple through this gate seeking the Lord’s blessing to win battles.

Vyaghradwara: Tiger is the symbol of Dharma (one’s own self), which is an important philosophy in the Hindu religion. In each and every moment, the spiritual seeker needs to adhere with his/her Dharma. Entering the temple through Vyaghradwara reminds the devotee about his/her Dharma and bolsters the spirit. The sages and special devotees enter and temple through this gate.

Hastidwara: It has colossal figure of elephants on each side. Elephant is regarded as the carriage for the Goddess of wealth – Maha Lakshmi. Devotees seeking wealth enter the temple through this gate.

Why the Temple was a Poll Issue

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have raked up the issue of the "missing" keys of the Ratna Bhandar, the inner treasury of the Jagannath Temple, and blamed BJD, led by Naveen Patnaik, for its failure to come clean on inventorying the jewellery and precious stones stored in it.

"The tradition of Jagannath Dham has been lowered in the name of promoting Puri as tourist hub. The Shreekshetra (Puri) has been transformed into a commercial centre. The mutts have been demolished and the four entry doors of Jagannath Temple remain closed. There was conspiracy to stop Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath," Shah had said in public meetings.

According to a statement given by the Odisha government led by Patnaik in the Assembly, the Ratna Bhandar was last opened in 1985 but the latest inventories of the valuables were made in 1978. Until 1985, nobody had seen the inner chamber of the Ratna Bhandar, which was divided into two parts.

What are Interesting Facts about the Jagannath Temple?

The Puri Jagannath temple is one of the Char Dham pilgrimage sites in India. The other three Dham are Badrinath, Dwarka, and Rameswaram.

Lakhs of devotees throng Puri in Odisha to visit Lord Jagannath Temple every year. Lord Jagannath, represented by Lord Krishna, is present in the temple along with his elder brother Lord Balbhadra and younger sister Goddess Subhadra.

The annual Ratha Yatra, or chariot festival, at the Puri temple is well-known for featuring the three main deities being hauled by enormous, ornately decorated temple cars.

• The flag at the top of the temple flutters in an opposite direction in which the wind blows. A priest climbs atop of the temple to change the flag every day for the 1,800 years. It is believed if the ritual is skipped even for a day, then the temple will remain closed for 18-long years. The temple is as tall as a 45-storey building, and the flag is changed with bare hands without any protective gear.

• The icon of Jagannath is made of wood and ceremoniously replaced every 12 or 19 years by a replica, in contrast to the stone and metal symbols found in the majority of Hindu temples. Sacred neem trees with rigid specifications are used for the purpose. The carving is done in secrecy by selected carpenters for 21 days. The old idols are buried in the Koili Vaikuntha. The last Nabakalebara ritual took place in 2015 was witnessed by millions.

• It is an architectural wonder or simply a miracle that no matter what time of the day it is or in where the sunlight is falling, the temple does not have a shadow.

• The Mahaprasad is served to Lord Jagannath in five phases and consists of 56 delectable delicacies from dry confectionaries to ‘shankhudi’ rice, dal and other items. It is available for devotees in Ananda Bazaar, which is located on the temple premises itself.

• Once a devotee enters the temple, they don’t hear the sound of waves. According to myth, Goddess Subhadra wished that the temple would be a place of serenity, and to please her, the temple does not reflect the sound of sea waves.

• No bird, not even a plan can be seen hovering over the temple. A bird cannot even be seen sitting atop the temple. There is no logical explanation to that.

• A wheel of fortune or ‘chakra’, which weighs a tonne, is placed at the top of the temple. The fact about the chakra is that it would appear the same to the viewer from any angle or height at any point in Puri.

• It is a natural phenomenon that the breeze blows from sea towards land during the day, and from land towards the sea in the evening. But the reverse happens in Puri.

• Every year, lakhs of devotees visit the temple during the Rath Yatra or visit Lord Jagannath. Every day the same amount of food is cooked. None of the food ever gets wasted or no devotee is unfed.

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