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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

Jagannath \Jag"an*nath\, Jagannatha \Jag`an*na"tha\, Jaganatha
\Jag`a*nat"ha\,, prop. n. Also Juggernaut \Jug"ger*naut\ [Hind.
Jagan-n[=a]th lord of the world, Skr. jagann[=a]tha.]
(Hinduism)
A particular form of Vishnu, or of Krishna, whose chief idol
and worship are at Puri, in Orissa. The idol is considered to
contain the bones of Krishna and to possess a soul. The
principal festivals are the Snanayatra, when the idol is
bathed, and the Rathayatra, when the image is drawn upon a
car adorned with obscene paintings. Formerly it was
erroneously supposed that devotees allowed themselves to be
crushed beneath the wheels of this car. It is now known that
any death within the temple of Jagannath is considered to
render the place unclean, and any spilling of blood in the
presence of the idol is a pollution.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]


Juggernaut \Jug"ger*naut`\, n. [Skr. jagann[=a]tha lord of the
world.]
1. One of the names under which Vishnu, in his incarnation as
Krishna, is worshiped by the Hindus. See also {Jagannath}.
[Written also {Juggernnath}, {Jaganath}, {Jagannath},
{Jaganatha}, {Jagannatha}, etc.]
[1913 Webster]

Note: The principal seat of the worship of Juggernaut
(Jagannath) is at P[^u]ri in Orissa. At certain times
the idol is drawn from the temple by the multitude, on
a high car with sixteen wheels. The idol is considered
to contain the bones of Krishna and to possess a soul.
The principal festivals are the Snanayatra, when the
idol is bathed, and the Rathayatra, when the image is
drawn upon a car adorned with obscene paintings.
Formerly it was erroneously supposed that fanatical
devotees threw themselves under the wheels of this car,
to be crushed as a sacrifice to the god. It is now
known that any death within the temple of Jagannath is
considered to render the place unclean, and any
spilling of blood in the presence of the idol is a
pollution. As a result of this erroneous belief,
however, the word {juggernaut} is now used principally
in the figurative sense 2.
[1913 Webster PJC]

2. Any large, unstoppable force, power, or popular movement
which defeats or destroys any person who gets in its way
or attempts to stop it; as, for years the Notre Dame
football team was an unstoppable juggernaut; after the
early primaries, Johnson's campaign became a juggernaut,
crushing all rivals.
[PJC]