,318 ON ORXSSA PROPER 



file advice of Narad Mtmi, who had accompanied him, obtained the aid 

 of Visvakerma, the architect of the gods, to arrange the image in its proper 

 form. At the first blow of the sacred axe of the Hindu Vulcan, the log split 

 of itself into the four -fold image or Chatur Murti. A little colouring only was 

 necessary to complete them, and they then became recognized as Sri Krish- 

 na or Jagannath distinguished by its black hue, Baldeo, a form of Siva, 

 of a white colour, Subhadra, the sister of these brothers of the colour of 

 saffron, and a round staffer pillar with the chakra impressed on each end 

 called Sudersan. The Raja's next care was to erect a temple and to esta- 

 blish the worship on a suitable scale of splendour. On the great day when 

 all was ready for consecrating the temple, Brahma himself, and the whole 

 company of the deities of Indra's court, came down from heaven on their 

 several appropriate vehicles to offer up worship at the shrine of the lord of 

 the universe, which, say the Urias, has since that period, and especially in 

 the Kali yuga, maintained a rank and celebrity such as even Kasi, Bindra^ 

 ban, or Setu Band liameswar, cannot boast of. 



The Hindus of Orissa endeavour, though with vastly little foundation, to 

 ascribe to the worship of Jagannath a more spiritual character than is ge- 

 nerally claimed for their superstition elsewhere. They refer to the com- 

 mon title of the divinity of the place, which implies Ihe Brahma or Divine 

 spirit that pervades and sustains the universe, and are fond of quoting a 

 passage in the legendary account of the temple which runs thus, " Hear 

 now the truth of the Dam Avatar," (the appearance of the deity in the 

 form of the Nim tree log,) " What part of the universe is there which the 

 divine spirit does not pervade? In every place it exults and sports in a 

 different form. In the heaven of Brahma it is Brahma ; at Kylas it is Ma- 

 liadeo ; in the upper world it is Indra ; on the face of the earth it is to be 

 found in all the most renowned Khetrs, at Baddrika as Badriuath; at 

 Brindaban and Dwaraka as Krishen; at Ayodhya (Onde) in another shape ; 

 but in the Khetr of Pursottem it appears in its true and most sacred form." 

 The brahmins also have a practice of dressing up the figure of Sri Jeo 



