Karmandir 
About
The Jagannath temple at Puri, on the Bay of Bengal, is one of the four dhams of the Char Dham, the dham of the east. Jagannath, 'Lord of the Universe', is worshipped as a form of Shri Vishnu and Shri Krishna, together with his elder brother Balabhadra, his sister Subhadra and the Sudarshan Chakra. Unlike the stone or metal murtis of most temples, theirs are carved from sacred neem wood. The temple, about 214 feet high, stands within two high walls with four gates; the main gate is the Singhadwara, the Lion Gate. Its kitchen is counted among the largest in the world and cooks vegetarian Mahaprasad without onion or garlic. By temple custom, only Hindus may enter.
The story
Tradition tells of King Indradyumna of Malwa, a great devotee of Vishnu, who longed for the Lord's darshan. After long prayer he was told to go to the seashore at Puri, where he would find a log of sacred wood floating in the sea. When the shining log arrived, the question was who could carve the Lord from it. An old carpenter came, who in the story was Vishnu himself (some tellings say Vishwakarma), and agreed to make the murtis on one condition: no one should open the door until he had finished. After about two weeks no sound came from the room, and at the worried queen's request the king opened the door. The carpenter vanished, leaving the murtis of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra with unfinished hands. A divine voice told the king to install them just as they were. Devotees see in this that the Lord does not need hands to care for the world. The present temple was built in the 12th century by King Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva of the Eastern Ganga dynasty. Every 12 or 19 years the wooden murtis are made anew in the Nabakalebar ceremony.
Visiting
October to March is pleasant by the sea; Ratha Yatra (June to July) brings the biggest crowds of the year. Mahaprasad is available at the Ananda Bazar inside the temple complex. The complex also has the Vimala temple, which some lists count as a Shakti Peeth. Nearby are the Gundicha temple about 3 km away, the Konark Sun Temple and Chilika Lake.
Festivals
- Ratha Yatra (Ashadh Shukla Dwitiya)
- Snana Purnima (Jyeshtha Purnima), followed by Anasara
- Chandan Yatra (42 days from Akshaya Tritiya)
- Dola Purnima (Phalgun Purnima)
- Nabakalebar: renewal of the wooden murtis, in years with an extra Ashadh month
