The most widely accepted origin story of Jagannath is tied to the history of the Sabar tribe in Odisha. As per scriptures, the king of the Sabara tribe in Utkal (modern-day Odisha) Biswabasu, had come into contact with Nilamadhava, a tribal form of Vishnu. Nilamadhava had become the primary deity for the Sabara tribe for years to come, until the then king of Utkal, King Indradyumna wished to establish a temple dedicated to Vishnu in Odisha. Indradyumna came into contact with Biswabasu, and requested to visit the deity of Nilamadhava, which was located within a cave in the dense interior forests of Odisha. Indradyumna sent his minister, Vidyapati to meet with Biswabasu and locate the caves which house Nilamadhava. 

However, Biswabasu refused to disclose the location of the cave, since it would desecrate the sanctity and seclusion of the deity, who was worshipped by Biswasbasu in private. The tribal king however gave a conditional offer to Vidyapati, that he must travel blindfolded with him to the cave, and not disclose the location to anyone. En route to the cave, Biswabasu was clever enough to throw mustard seeds on the ground, so that the route leading to the cave can be re-traced upon return. After visiting Nilamadhava in the caves, Vidyapati was delighted, and returned to Indradyumna with the news of locating the cave. Indradyumna returned with his entourage to the cave, by following the trace of mustard seeds planted on the route. However, upon reaching the cave, Indradyumna was shocked to see that Nilamadhava was nowhere to be found. 

Upon returning back to his palace, Indradyumna received a divine revelation from Lord Vishnu in his dreams, who instructed him to retrieve a sacred log of wood (daru), that would soon wash ashore the beaches of Puri. Indradyumna would soon locate the daru, and instructed his soldiers and craftsmen to transform the wood into an idol of Lord Vishnu. Unfortunately, none of the craftsmen managed to even dent, let alone cut the wood. Soon, an old craftsman, who had very frail health and appeared physically weak in strength, approached Indradyumna to volunteer to construct the idol of Lord Vishnu out of the sacred wood. 

Doubting his physical abilities, Indradyumna was initially suspicious of the old man's intentions, and his capability to construct the idol. However, these doubts would be cleared when the old man himself proved to Indradyumna of his capable skills, by scraping off a bark of wood from the log with ease, a task that was not possible for any of the other craftsmen before him. Upon seeing this feat, Indradyumna permitted the old man to craft the idol, under the condition that the old man would be locked in a wooden hut for 21 days without being disturbed by anyone from the outside, and remaining under constant surveillance by the king's guards. Religious bhajans and kirtans would take place outside the wooden hut for this 21-day period to keep away any unwanted visitors. 

After 15 days however, Indradyumna's wife, Queen Gundicha was concerned about the health of the old craftsmen, and insisted on opening the doors to the wooden hut. Despite resisting his wife's request to do so, Indradyumna opened the doors to the hut, only finding that the craftsman had disappeared, and for the first time, he got a glance of the three new idols (murtis) of Jagannatha, Balabhadra, and Subhadra, along with the murti of Sudarshan (associated with Lord Vishnu as the Sudarshan Chakra). Upon realizing that the idols had no feet, hands or ears, Indradyumna blamed himself for prematurely opening the doors to the hut, and thus interrupting the sacred process. However, soon enough, Narada (associated with Lord Vishnu) appeared in-person and introduced the king to the three holy deities. It was soon revealed that the old craftsman was none other than Biswakarma, the craftsman of the Gods. Thus, the hut where the three brothers and sisters came into existence is now known as Gundicha temple in modern-day Puri.