Jaganatha, which means "Lord of the Universe", is a name of Krishna, and specifically refers to the image of the deity at the Jaganatha temple in Puri, Orissa, India.

The Temple of Lord Jaganatha is one of the major temples in India. The worship of Lord Jaganatha is so ancient that there is no accurate record of how long it has been going on. It is strictly forbidden for non-Hindus to enter the Jaganatha temple.

Once a year Lord Jaganatha, along with his brother, Baladeva , and sister, Subhadra, are taken out of the temple and pulled on huge chariots through the streets of Puri. It is from these huge chariots that the English word 'juggernaut' comes. Millions of devotees attend this festival every year, including the King of Puri , who sweeps the path in front of Lord Jaganatha cart.

The form of Lord Jaganatha is unusual, in that it does not appear to have completely human form. The story relating to the genesis of the Deity is as follows:

Long long ago, King Indradumna Deva of Kalinga had a spectacular dream one night. He dreamt of the gods telling him to worship Jaganatha Deva, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The idol, as the dream showed, was to be built with neem wood, which would be found on the seashore.

The king being very pious, decided to follow the heavenly orders and as predicted by the dream the wood was found on the seashore. The mason of the gods, Lord Vishwakarma , was requested to carry out the modeling and he agreed under one condition -- that nobody should disturb him or take a peek at his works until he has finished. The king made the promise and the Lord started his works. But one day, the curious king made the mistake of peeking into the room, which the Lord was using as his studio. At that time all except the arms of the deities were finished. Lord Vishwakarma was furious and left without completing the statues.