Jagann?tha

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Jagannātha (Skt., ‘Lord of the Universe’: often Anglicized as ‘juggernaut’). Local name of the Hindu god Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa worshipped in the temple of Purī, Orissa. The temple is famous all over India and attracts large numbers of pilgrims, particularly to its festivals. The temple became notorious under colonial rule because of its festivals, during which period the wooden images are carried out in procession on huge wooden carts, under whose wheels some were killed, probably by accident, not suicide. However, ‘Juggernaut’ came to denote blind, religious frenzy. But with memories of the huge festival carts lingering on, a more recent application of the word is to large, heavy lorries.

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