The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1128 page)

BOOK: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions
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Jafr
.
The belief of
Sh
‘a
Muslims that there is a secret tradition of esoteric knowledge passed on through the succession of Im
ms.
Jagaccandra Suri
(Jain sect)
:
see
GACCHA
.
Jagadguru
(Skt., ‘world-teacher’). Title assumed by sect leaders, as e.g. among the
Li
g
yats
.
Jagann
tha
(Skt., ‘Lord of the Universe’: often Anglicized as ‘juggernaut’). Local name of the Hindu god
Vi
u
/
K
a
worshipped in the temple of Pur
, Orissa. The temple is famous all over India and attracts large numbers of pilgrims, particularly to its
festivals
. The temple became notorious under colonial rule because of its festivals, during which period the wooden images are carried out in procession on huge wooden carts, under whose wheels some were killed, probably by accident, not suicide. However, ‘Juggernaut’ came to denote blind, religious frenzy. But with memories of the huge festival carts lingering on, a more recent application of the word is to large, heavy lorries.

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