Everything about Juggernaut totally explained
A
juggernaut is a term used to describe a force regarded as unstoppable, that will crush all in its path.
The word is derived from the
Sanskrit Jagannātha (meaning "Lord of the universe") which is one of the many names of
Krishna from the ancient
Vedic scriptures of
India. One of the most famous of Indian
temples is the
Jagannath Temple in
Puri,
Orissa, which has the
Ratha Yatra (chariot procession), an annual procession of chariots carrying the
murtis/statues of
Jagannâth (Krishna),
Subhadra and
Baladeva (Krishna's elder brother). During the
British colonial
era,
Christian missionaries promulgated a fallacy that
Hindu devotees of Krishna were lunatic fanatics who threw themselves under the wheels of these chariots in order to attain
salvation. Such a description can also be found in the popular fourteenth-century work "
The Travels of Sir John Mandeville." In rare instances in the festival's past, people had been crushed accidentally as the massive 45 foot tall, multi-ton chariot slipped out of control, with others suffering injury in the resulting stampedes. This sight led the Britons of the time to contrive the word "Juggernaut" to refer to examples of unstoppable, crushing forces.
In modern times, the government officers and temple priests managing the festival take elaborate precautions to protect people from injury during these processions.
The
Ratha Yatra festival has become a common sight in most major cities of the world since 1968 through the
Hare Krishna movement. Its leader
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada successfully transplanted the festival which now happens on an annual basis in places such as
London,
Paris,
Toronto and
New York.
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