Bhogamandapa

(“food pavilion”) The outermost
entrance hall in the style of architecture
found in the largest temples in Orissa.
At the temple of Jagannath in Puri, the
term bhogamandapa specifically refers
to the area where the food offered to
Jagannath as prasad (“favor”) is cooked.
Jagannath’s temple is unusual in that the
normal restrictions regarding commensality are suspended. Everyone eats
together rather than being segregated by
caste, signifying Jagannath’s ultimate
lordship over all beings. The prominence of this particular rite makes the
bhogamandapa all the more important.