"There were many legends about the twelfth century Sanskrit poet, Jayadeva (Miller 1984: 39-40). His Gita Govinda, which exalted Radha, was written in the precincts of the Jagannath temple. The work was regularly recited in the temple and inspired many generations of poets. Chaitanya (1486-1534) lived the last decades of his life there. The Chaitanya- Chandrodaya recorded his experience on first beholding the deity, “T rushed to embrace Jagannatha. What happened afterwards, I do not remember... In future, I shall behold Jagannatha from outside. I shall not enter the sanctum but stand near the Garuda column.” Several visitors to India in the sixteenth century wrote detailed accounts of the temple, among them Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, “Jagannath is the name of one of the mouths of the Ganges, upon which the great pagoda is built, where the Great Brahman, that is to say the High Priest of the idolaters, resides... The great idol on the altar of the choir has two diamonds for his eyes and a pendant from his neck which reaches to the waist, and the smallest of these diamonds weighs about 40 carats; he has bracelets on his arms, some being of pearls and some of rubies, and this magnificent idol is called Kesora [Kesava Rail... Francois Bernier described the annual rath yatra, “In the town of Jagannat, situated on the Gulf of Bengale, and containing the famous temple of the idol of that name, a certain annual festival is held, which continues, if my memory fail not, for the space of eight or nine days. At this festival is collected an incredible concourse of people..."