Worship of Lord Jagannatha in His Temple at Puri

Worship of Lord Jagannatha in His Temple at Puri

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This painting depicts a major religious festival celebrating Krishna as Lord of the Universe (Jagannatha) at his temple in Puri, in Odisha (Orissa), eastern India. In the central image one of the kings of the Kathmandu Valley worships Krishna, who is accompanied by his sister Sudhadra and half-brother Balabhadra (Balarama). The divine triad are represented in a uniquely Odishan style that signals this imagery’s localized tribal origins. A spectacularly large composition, the painting is a rare pictorial record of Nepalese royal patronage alluding to pilgrimage to the Jagannatha temple in Odisha. Only two Nepalese works depicting this subject are known. The other, dated 1670, incorporates an inscribed portrait of the Bhaktapur king Jagatprakasa-malla (r. 1643–72).

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Worship of Lord Jagannatha in His Temple at PuriWorship of Lord Jagannatha in His Temple at PuriWorship of Lord Jagannatha in His Temple at PuriWorship of Lord Jagannatha in His Temple at PuriWorship of Lord Jagannatha in His Temple at Puri

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.