The history and the many legends woven around the temple can be read in the temple chronicles called the Madalapanji. Legends say there was a temple at Puri for thousands of years. Historians date the present temple to the 12th century and the rule of the Ganga dynasty. It was begun by King Chedabhima Deva and completed by his son Anangabhima Deva. The architectural design follows the layout of all Orissa temples and the temple is similar to the Lingaraja Temple of Bhubaneswar though it is much larger. The temple was attacked by the Muslim general Kalapahad in the sixteenth century and it was restored by later kings of Orissa. They also built the high walls turning the temple compound into a medieval fortress. In the nineteenth century King Ranjit Singh of Punjab donated gold and jewels to the temple and it is said that in his will he had donated the Kohinoor diamond to the temple but it was taken away by the British to London and presented to Queen Victoria.

The Jagannath Temple, called Shrimandir by the locals, was built facing the east to catch the first rays of the rising sun. The temple precinct covers over ten acres and is surrounded by two walls. The outer wall is called the Meghnada Prachira and the inner wall is the Kurma Bheda and the walls are pierced by gateways.

The main sanctum called the Bada Deul with the tall curvilinear spire called shikhara has an attached pillared assembly hall called the Jagamohan. These were built first and then the hall of offerings, the Bhoga Mandapa and the dance hall, the Natya Mandapa were added probably in the 14th century during the reign of the Gajapati dynasty. There is a giant wheel made of eight metals on top of the spire, this is Vishnu’s discuss and is called Nilachakra and a huge flag flies over it.

The temple precinct is surrounded by a high wall pierced by four gateways. The main entrance from Bada Danda is called Simhadwar or the Lion’s Gate and it is guarded by two stone lions. This is the gate from which the deities are taken out to be placed in the chariots for the Rath Yatra. Right behind the gate there is a small image of Jagannath that is visible from the road called Patit Pavana. This image can be viewed by non-Hindus who are not allowed to enter the temple. The images of two temple guardians called Jaya and Vijaya stand at the gate.

The other three gates are guarded by elephants, called Hastidwar; horses, called Ashwadwar and by tigers, called Vyaghradwar. There are twenty two steps that take devotees inside from the Simhadwar and these are considered sacred and are called Baisipahacha. Beyond the steps on the left is the temple kitchen where the Mahaprasad is prepared and on the right the Ananda Bazaar where the Mahaprasad is sold to pilgrims.

There are two sacred pillars within the precinct. The first is a beautiful column made of chlorite called Aruna Sthambha right before the Simhadwar. On top of the eleven metre high column is the image of Aruna, the god of dawn who drives the seven horse chariot of the sun god Surya. The pillar was brought here from the sun temple at Konarak. The second pillar called the Garuda Sthambha stands before the sanctum. It is said that the saint-poet Chaitanya Mahaprabhu used to stand here to say his prayers to Jagannath.

In the sanctum or grabha griha the deities are placed on a pedestal called Ratna Simhasan or Ratnavedi, the throne of jewels. Beside the images of Jagannath, Subhadra and Balabhadra there is also a log of wood that symbolises Vishnu’s discus Sudarshana Chakra. Around them are images of the goddesses Lakshmi and Saraswati Shridevi, Bhudevi and Lord Nilmadhav. The outer walls and pillars of the temple are covered with carvings.

NOTE: Non-Hindus are not allowed inside the temple. Visitors can view the temple from across the road from the Raghunandan Library. Everyone can view the images of Jagannath, Subhadra and Balabhadra during the Rath Yatra.