Balarama is the mythical hero and Lord Krishna's elder brother.
- Although he is a minor mythological character, he is significant because of his link to the Jagannath temple in Puri.
- Jagannath ("Lord of the World"), a tribal god who has been incorporated into the Hindu pantheon as a version of Krishna, is the temple's presiding deity.
Jagannath's image is always seen alongside two other deities, Balabhadra and their sister Subhadra, and the three deities are always seen together.
- In his enumeration of 10 avatars (divine incarnations) connected with the deity Vishnu, the poet Jayadeva listed Balabhadra as the eighth avatar, which is usually held by Krishna.
- Jagannath/Krishna, according to Jayadeva, is the Ultimate Reality from whence all the avatars emerge, not a manifestation of Vishnu.
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