Juggernaut

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Juggernaut

Origin of Phrases - J

 

Juggernaut

The Hindi word Jagganath is the title of Krishna, one of the incarnations of Vishnu. It comes from Sanskrit Jaganatha, a compound or jagat (world) and nathas (lord). It's applied top a large wagon on which an image of the god is carriedduring a precession.  It used to be said that worshippers of Krishna threw themselves under the wheels of the wagon in an access of religious ecstasy. And so juggernaut came to be used metaphorically in English for an "irresistible crushing force."