Yameshwar/Jambeswara Temple Puri,Odisha

Good place for worship lord harihara! According to a priest of this temple this is older than Jagannath temple & one of the famous five shiva temple ! The deities of these five temples provide protection to lord Jagannath & accompany him at the time of Chandan Yatra !

It is also known as Lord Shiva Jambeshwar (one of the Yamraj incarnations of Lord Shiva). As long as Jagganath temple has all the specialties and rituals some of the rituals are associated with Jambeshwar temple which has made it a very popular temple in Puri near Harchandi Sahi. Just near Jagannath Temple Road (West).

The Yameswar Mahadev is worshiped near the ashram of Kandu Muni(sage). Yameshwar is the chief of the Ashtasambhu that surrounds Shrikshetra.

The literal analysis of the word Yameswar is that God of Yama(King of Nether world). The person who worships him,he is relieved of premature death and mortal pain. The worship of Lord Yameswar among the local people is widely known and revered. Especially on the day Yam Dutiya(the day that falls two days after Diwali), many local devotees worship here.

It is believed that worshiping this one day and visiting the Yameswar Mahadev and the Yam (idol) in the temple is the same as visiting them all year round. According to locals, on this day the god of death, Yam, goes to his sister’s house, so if someone dies on this day, he goes to heaven. Locals take gifts to their sisters’ homes on this day.

According to the Skandapurana, due to the presence of Lord Yamewar, the god of death Yam has no right to enter and punish the culprits in this kshetra. Information about this Yameswar presence in this kshetra can be found in Sarladas’s Odia Mahabharata. Of the five Mahadevs / Panchpandavas in Shrikshetra, Yameswar is considered as ‘Yudhisthira’.

But when and why has Panchmahadeva been integrated as Panchpandava! That is unknown But some elders say that the place is known by the sage Kandu, who is a truthful, virtuous and wise person and yudhisthira has equal qualities like him, so Yameswar here considered as “Yudhisthira”.

A shivalinga within a circular yonipitha is worshipped inside the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. The temple belongs to 13th century precise to Ganga Dynasty. The Bimana is rekha deula and Jagamohan is a pidha deula and Natamandap and Bhogamandapa are later construction. Yameswar is considered to be a combined form of Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu. His vehicle, appearance, jewelry and weapons are planned in that regard.