Chaturddha Murati

At the heart of Sri Mandir are four sacred forms: Sri Jagannath, Sri Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Sri Sudarshan. Together they are known as the Chaturddha Murati—the fourfold manifestation worshipped upon the Ratna Singhasana in the sanctum of Sri Mandir.

To the unfamiliar eye, the most immediately recognisable forms are often the three great wooden deities: Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra. Yet the sacred configuration is not complete without Sri Sudarshan, whose distinctive form stands alongside them. The familiar triad is therefore encountered within a larger fourfold presence.

These forms are unlike the conventional anthropomorphic images found throughout much of Hindu temple tradition. Their appearance, material form and ritual life belong to the distinctive tradition of Sri Kshetra, Puri. Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra possess their extraordinary characteristic forms, while Sudarshan is represented differently again. Together they constitute a sacred configuration inseparable from the ritual world of Sri Mandir.

The four principal forms are fashioned from sacred daru—wood—and their material embodiment is not regarded as permanently fixed. At prescribed intervals associated with Navakalevara, new sacred forms are fashioned and the old forms relinquished through one of Sri Mandir's most profound ritual processes. This extraordinary relationship between permanence and renewal is one of the defining mysteries of Jagannath tradition.

Jagannath Patrika therefore begins its introduction to Sri Jagannath not with Jagannath in isolation, but with the Chaturddha Murati in whose company he resides and is worshipped: Sri Jagannath, Sri Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Sri Sudarshan.

Sri Balabhadra

Sri Balabhadra, the elder brother of Sri Jagannath, stands with Jagannath, Devi Subhadra and Sri Sudarshan upon the Ratna Singhasana of Sri Mandir.

Distinguished by his great white form, broad countenance and characteristic iconography, Balabhadra is an integral presence within the sacred life of Sri Kshetra—not simply an accompanying figure, but a Lord with his own worship, ritual identity and traditions.

Balabhadra is widely identified with Balarama, the elder brother of Krishna, and with Ananta-Sesha, the divine serpent associated with strength, protection and cosmic support. Yet, as with Jagannath himself, the traditions surrounding Balabhadra have developed through a long and complex history in Odisha. Scholars have identified Vaishnava, Shaiva and indigenous strands within his worship and iconography, while the living tradition of Puri preserves Balabhadra firmly within the distinctive fourfold presence worshipped in Sri Mandir.

During Ratha Yatra, Balabhadra is the first of the three great deities to journey from Sri Mandir, travelling upon his chariot Taladhwaja, ahead of Subhadra and Jagannath. His place within Sri Mandir extends far beyond this most visible festival, however, through the daily and periodic ritual life in which the four Lordships are served together and through traditions particular to Balabhadra himself.

No introduction of this length could capture the many layers surrounding Sri Balabhadra—his identity, iconography, worship, history and place within the sacred world of Puri.

Jagannath Patrika will allow those stories to unfold as they should: one day at a time, one Sri Katha at a time.