Chakra Narayana Temple

Chakratirtha is an important pilgrim centre of Puri. It is situated towards the northern end of Puri town at a distance of 3 kilometers from the Lord Jagannath temple. It is located on the right side of Chakratirtha Road, leading from Subas Bose Chowk to Penthakota, the fisherman village. At this place there is a temple dedicated to Lord Nrusingha. Local people know this temple by various names such as Chakra Narasimha Temple, Chakra Nrusingha Temple and Chakra Narayana Temple. At this temple, a large Chakra, the divine weapon of Lord Vishnu or Jagannath, is worshipped in water in the sanctum sanctorum made of black granite with a statue of Lord Narayan at the centre, known as Chakranarayana. The presiding deities of the temple are three images of Lord Nrusingha known as Abhaya Nrusingha, Chakra Nrusingha and Laxmi Nrusingha. These three different forms of Lord Nrusingha as worshipped at Chakratirtha have unique values in Hindu religion. The form of Abhaya Nrusingha represents Sri Balabhadra. The form of Chakra Nrusingha represents Goddess Subhadra and the form of Laxmi Nrusingha represents Lord Jagannath. In puranas, the first three gods of the universe, Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswar have also found expression in the forms of Chakra Nrusingha, Laxmi Nrusingha and Abhaya Nrusingha respectively.