Lord Jagannath is a Hindu deity worshipped by devotees in India and across the globe. Lord Jagannath is considered an avatar (incarnation) of Lord Vishnu. In fact, he has the attributes of all the avatars of Lord Vishnu. Lord Jagannath is worshipped in different forms on different occasions. For example, he is frequently identified with Lord Shri Krishna, the eighth avatar of Lord Vishnu. The idol of Lord Jagannath is made of wood, hence he's identified with the Narasimha Avatar of Lord Vishnu who appeared from a wooden pillar. In the month of Bhadra (August-September), Lord Jagannath is worshipped in the form of the Vamana avatar of Lord Vishnu. The world-famous Lord Jagannath temple is located in Puri, Odisha, where he's worshipped along with his elder brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra.

The most important of the numerous yearly festivals is the Chariot Festival (Rathayatra), which takes place on the second day of the bright fortnight of Ashadha (June–July). The image is placed in a wagon so heavy that the efforts of hundreds of devotees are required to move it, and it is dragged through deep sand to the country house of the god. The journey takes several days, and thousands of pilgrims participate. Reports of these processions in the past have been much exaggerated, although accidents are common and occasionally a frenzied pilgrim attempts to throw himself under the wagon. The English word juggernaut, with its connotation of a force crushing whatever is in its path, is derived from this festival.

Jagannatha, (Sanskrit: “Lord of the World”) form under which the Hindu god Krishna is worshipped at Puri, Odisha (Orissa), and at Ballabhpur, a suburb of Shrirampur, West Bengal state, India. The 12th-century temple of Jagannatha in Puri towers above the town. In its sanctuary, wooden images represent Jagannatha, his brother Balabhadra (Balarama), and his sister Subhadra. Modern representations made in Puri of the 10 avatars (incarnations) of Vishnu often show Jagannatha as one of the 10 in place of the more usually accepted Buddha.