Jagannath, Lord of the world, is the symbol of Vishnu. The image of this God has no legs, and only stumps of arms. Together with Jagannath are seated Balram and Subhadra who are worshipped as Basudev and Bhubaneshwari. The later two images also do not have legs and hands.

Puri, near the town of Cuttack, in the sate of Orissa, is considered to be the real abode of Lord Jagannath and the chief centre of its worship is a great temple complex in that city. Three big statues of Jagannath, Balram and Subhadra are enshrined in this temple. These three images are worshipped in the same form in all the Jagannath temples, situated mostly in the Eastern parts of India.