Jagannath in the South Asian Literary and Folkloric Tradition

Built in 1137, the Purushottam temple, famously known as Jagannath temple has remained a popular seat of Tantric, Vaishnavite, Shaivite, Shakta, tribal and even Buddhist cult. In one of the popular oral tales, it is said that Tulsidas had a vision of Ram in Jagannath. Such heterogeneous tradition has led to the writings of numerous texts and given rise to a vibrant oral culture around the temple. Such liberal manifestation of the image of Jagannath and a number of popular traditions around the deity have attracted the attention of researchers from around the world. This volume explores the representation of Jagannath in literary texts, oral tales, songs, and dance. It investigates the different modes of representation of Jagannath in various media.