When Lord Jagannatha is worshipped without Balarama & Subhadra He is Patita-pavana, the deliverer of the fallen. He was the principal Deity of Bhaktivinoda Thakura's ancestors for four hundred years. The worship of Lord Jagannatha along with Gaura-Gadadhara represents a very special conception. We may see Lord Jagannatha as Dvarkadisa Krsna in a particular mood of ecstacy in remembering Vrndavana. Then there is the wonderful story of Lord Jagannatha inciting his pure devotee Mukunda to steal jackfruits and getting caught.
If you do not understand Gaura-Gadadhara you cannot understand Radha-Krsna. Gadadhara is categorically the greatest devotee of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
The reaction to the early Christian's criticisms of Lord Jagannatha (and the coining of the word Juggernaut: a relentless force which crushes all in it's path) is that now Rathayatra and Lord Jagannatha have come to all those Christian countries. Lord Jagannatha and Lord Caitanya's pastimes in Puri are most esoteric and extraordinary...
