Jagannath & Buddha

In the 12th century AD, Jayadeva, the famous Vaishanava poet of Orissa, in his Geetagovinda, has described Buddhadev as the ninth avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu. The Buddhists subscribing to the Mahayana philosophy held the view that both Buddha and Purushottam belong to "Mahasunya" having no shapes. In the Mahabharata of Sarla Das, Jagannath has been described as the Buddha of Kali Yuga. Scholars are of the opinion that when Gaya was a principal centre of Buddhism, Puri was also flourishing as an equally important centre devoted to Buddhism. According to them, before Vaishanavism influenced Buddhism, Orissa was already under the influence of Buddhism. In short, Jagannath cult has a built-in component of Buddhism.

In the Jain scripture "Jnana Siddhi", Indrabhuti has described Jagannath as "Gina". The followers of Mahima dharma having their centre of learning and worship at Joranda near Dhenkanal (Orissa), do not worship any idol, but they worship Lord Jagannath.It is easy to establish that Jagannath attracts people from all religions and all sects. Prophets and saints of different religious faith have visited Puri and sang in praise of the Lord. Prominent among them were Adi Shankara, Guru Nanak, Sant Kabir, Shri Chaitanya Dev and the celebrated Muslim poet Salabeg.

In the province of Bali, Indonesia, where the majority of people are Hindus, one finds and feels the presence of the Jagannath Cult. In the Besakih temple, the oldest one in Bali, one finds the idol of Lord Jagannath.