juggernaut English · revision 53

+ ==Etymology==

+ First recorded in the 1630s (as ''Iaggernat'') for the huge wagon carrying an image of Krishna at Puri;^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) the figurative sense “an idea or custom demanding blind devotion or merciless sacrifice” dates from 1854.^(Etymonline) It is [[bor|hi|जगन्नाथ|tr=Jagannāth|t=lord of the world]], a title of Krishna,^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) [[der|sa|जगन्नाथ|tr=Jagannātha|t=lord of the world]],^(OED 1989)^(RHWU) from ''jagat'' “world” + ''nātha'' “lord, protector”.^(OED 1989)^(RHWU)

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+ The sense arose from the belief that worshippers threw themselves under the wheels of the wagon during the annual procession at Puri,^(AHD)^(Etymonline) which Etymonline calls apocryphal.^(Etymonline) The spelling ''Jugger-'' reflects the Hindi short ''a''.^(OED 1989)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}