Puri Jagannath Temple -- Kalinga Architecture Blue Sky HD Wallpaper

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White stone against blue sky, palm fronds framing ancient walls, and the great deul rising above everything -- the Jagannath Temple at Puri photographed in the clear light of an Odisha afternoon, every architectural detail sharp and present. The Kalinga style of temple architecture visible here is distinctive to Odisha -- the curving tower (rekha deul) rises in a smooth parabolic curve rather than the stepped pyramid (vimanam) of South Indian temples or the clustered peaks of North Indian Nagara style. This temple is one of the "Char Dham" -- four pilgrimage sites at the four corners of India that the philosopher Adi Shankaracharya (8th century CE) established as the essential circuit of Hindu pilgrimage. A devout Hindu who completes the Char Dham Yatra has visited the full compass of the sacred land. The Jagannath Temple has special social significance in Indian history. It is one of the few major temples where caste distinctions were historically relaxed -- inside the temple and especially in the matter of Mahaprasad (sacred food), all castes eat together as equals. This egalitarian tradition influenced reformers including Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (15th century), who spent his final years in Puri and whose ecstatic devotion to Jagannath transformed Bengali Vaishnavism. The temple remains closed to non-Hindus, a policy that has generated controversy but is maintained by the temple administration as a matter of religious tradition. Free HD download for phone and desktop.

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