Within the vast Jagannath Temple complex, in the southwestern corner of the compound, stands the Vimala Temple — dedicated to the goddess Vimala, the shakti (divine feminine power) of Lord Jagannath. Vimala is considered the presiding goddess of Puri itself, and the temple is classified as one of the 51 Shakti Pithas — the sacred goddess sites spread across South Asia, each marking a place where a part of the goddess Sati's body fell to earth after her death. This gives the site a significance in the Shakta tradition that runs entirely parallel to its role within the Vaishnava Jagannath cult.
The dual identity of the Jagannath complex — simultaneously one of the great Vaishnava pilgrimage sites and a major Shakti Pitha — is theologically unusual and explains something of the temple's pan-Hindu appeal. Non-Hindus cannot enter the compound to visit the Vimala Temple, but understanding its presence there enriches the sense of what the whole complex represents: not a single-tradition shrine but a site where Vaishnavism and Shaktism have coexisted and intertwined for centuries. The mahaprasad of the Jagannath Temple achieves its sacred status partly because Vimala has first consumed the offered food — only after her acceptance does the offering become prasad for distribution to pilgrims.