Puri
About the city
Puri, the abode of Lord Vishnu, as Jagannath (Lord of the universe) is regarded by Hindus as one of the four holiest pilgrim centres or "char dhams". Adi shankaracharya, the 8th century sage and religious reformer established the Gobardhan matha (monastery) here. Puri is also known for its fine beach.Puri, on the east coast of India, in the state of Orissa is a hoary pilgrimage center, enshrining Jagannath, in a colossal temple. Puri is well connected by rail and road with Calcutta and with Bhubaneshwar. Bhubaneshwar, Konarak and Puri constitute the Golden triangle of Orissa, visited in large numbers by pilgrims and tourists.
Puri is the fore runner of the Jagannath cult in Orissa, which saw the flowering of several temples dedicated to Jagannath all over the state.
Puri is an ancient shrine, enshrining Krishna - Jagannath in the form of a wooden image. Also enshrined are wooden images of Balabhadra (Balarama) and Subhadra brother and sister of Krishna respectively. Interestingly, the Rig Veda refers to Purushottama in the form of a wooden image, prepared from a log of wood floating on the ocean. Puri is also referred to in the Bhrama purana.
Orissa has Konark as the Surya Kshetra, Puri as the Vishnu kshetra, Bhubaneshwar as the Hara Kshetra and Jaipur as the Parvati Kshetra.
Legend has it that the original image of Jagannath was found at the foot of a fig tree, in the form of an Indranila or the Blue Jewel. Its blinding brightness, prompted Dharma to request it to be hidden in the earth. King Indradyumna, of Malwa intending to discover this image, performed severe penances, and was instructed by Vishnu to go to the Puri seashore, and look for a floating log, and fashion an image from its trunk.
The King did discover the log of wood. Vishnu and Vishwakarma appeared in the form of artistes and prepared images of Krishna, Balarama and Subhadra from the tree. Interestingly, the wooden images being worshipped are renewed during special occasions. New images have been installed in 1863, 1893, 1931, 1950, 1969 and 1977.
Puri was a center of Buddhist worship, before it became a center of Vaishnavism again. The Rath Yatra at Puri has its parallel with the chariot procession of the Buddha's tooth at Dantapuri.
Puri is located on the gentle slope of the Nila hill, adjacent to the sea. A sacred banyan tree is revered as a manifestation of Vishnu, the ocean - Balarama and a pool- the king Indradyumna. Pilgrims are required to offere worship first at a Shiva temple, and then at the banyan tree and then at the shrine to Balarama before proceding to worship Jagannath. Subhadra is to be worshipped next.
The easy accessibility from almost all the major towns and cities of India, wide beaches, the fishing farms and the superb resorts make it an important tourist destination and a major base point to visit the nearby important sites. The famous temple of Lord Jagannath and the annual Rath yatra festival here attract a large number of tourists every year. The Jagannath Temple is one of the four most important Hindu pilgrimage sites or the chardham, the other three being Dwarka, Badrinath, and Rameshwaram. Moreover, the scenic spots all over this small town with the beaches that offer breathtaking view of sunrise and sunset and the traditional methods of fishing used by the local fishermen are some of the other aspects for which Puri has always attracted the attention of the people.
Puri is one of the most important pilgrimage towns in India. The pilgrims' destination is the Jagannatha Temple, which may be highly impressive but is closed to non-Hindus. The tower of the library opposite provides a view.
Every year the three images from the temple are taken in procession to their summer home. The massive carriage for Jagannatha has 16 wheels over 2 m in diameter and is dragged down the broad main street by thousands of men. The carriages of Jagannatha's brother and sister are smaller. A colourful bazaar occupies the main street, and small replicas of the images can be bought. A small traveller's colony has grown up to the east to town near the fishing village, and this makes a good place to break the journey to Kolkata (or recover afterwards). The restaurants serve good inexpensive seafood, and parts of the beach are OK for sunbathing, though the water is heavily polluted. For clean water and peace you need to walk quite some distance past the fishing village (heading away from Puri). The beach is very exposed, and the currents can be dangerous.
A melee of sights, sounds and smells, Puri assaults your senses with the piquant aroma of spicy street food combined with the rich sweetness of its mahaprasad. With the clanging of temple bells and guttural Vedic chants against the sounds of its infinite sea. With the vision of a million people dwarfed by this magnificent structure --this edifice dedicated to Lord Jagannath, with which the pilgrim town is now synonymous. Like Jagannath - the Lord of the Universe or Vishnu - to whom the temple is dedicated, Puri resembles India's religious universe. Blessed with a golden beach, this pilgrimage centre equals Varanasi and Tirupati in religious significance and is especially vibrant during the period of its famous Rath Yatra. Like its great temple from which we derive the word 'juggernaut', a visit to Puri is a larger-than-life experience.
Hilgiri, Niladri, Hilachal Purushottam, Sankhakshetra, Srikehetra, Jagannath Dham, Jagannath Puri, Puri is a place with many names over the centuries. Two great forces dominate puri: the sea (Bay of Bengal) and the great temple of Lord Jagannath. One of the four celebrated religious centers (Char Dhams) of India, Puri, the abode of Lord Jagannath needs no introduction.
According to tradition Puri was once a thickly wooded hill inhabited by the Sabaras (Pre-Aryan and Pre-Dravidian tribes of the Austric linguistic family). Very few cities are so dominated by a single factor in so many diverse ways as Puri is, influenced by Lord Jagannath. A very large part of Puri's population is connected with the temple in one way or the other. Some are involved in the service of Lord Jagannath (the Pandas and Purohits), others have gainful employment indirectly generated because of the deity. Apart from Jagannath temple, the other two most important temples around are Lokanath Temple and Gundicha Temple.
Most people go to Puri for religious reasons - it being one of the four most holy Hindu 'Dhams' (meaning a holy place). But a very large number also go for both adventure as well as restful holidays. Drawing the maximum number of visitors as compared to any other place in Orissa, Puri not only has scores of hotels, but also hundreds of holiday homes owned by various organisations and business houses. The sunny beach at Puri is one of the finest in the world. Watching the sunrise in a symphony of colours is a wonderful experience. It is one of the most popular seaside resorts where visitors from any part of the globe can comfortably relax. There is the added attraction of one of the few remaining relies of the British period - the South Eastern Railway Hotel. There must be very few places left in India with such spacious rooms and so much living space. The lifestyle at this hotel can be an experience of a lifetime for those coming from crowded cities.
Puri being a coastal district of Orissa is famous for its Historic antiquities, Religious sanctuaries, Architectural Grandeur, beautiful sea and moderate climate. It holds a wealth of attraction for the visitors. It boasts of a continuous history from the 3rd Century B.C. to the present day and its unique monuments like those of Lord Jagannath at Puri, the Sun God at Konark are the famous in the world. It has the Chilika Lake, one of the largest brackish water lakes in India, which holds a picturesque Seascape beauty. It offers an ideal resort for birds that migrate from different parts of the continent. By virtue of Geographical location , the climate of Puri is equable through out the year.
Puri the abode of Vishnu as Jagannath, which contributed the word "Juggernaut" to the English language, represents its integrated individuality as its cultural heritage, a unique blend of claims of time and eternity with a power answerable only to wisdom. Puri's compendious heritage has been representing that spark of immortality that the Oriyas and the Indians have own against the powers of negation, through a spirit of university, adaptability, and an astute mixture of the present which no other culture can aspire to explain as its self justification. The name of the Lord as Purusottama (perfection personified) or as Jagannath (Lord of Universe) represents a universality in true with the familiar faternity of mankind (Vasudheiva Kutumbakam). Adi Shankaracharya visited Puri, set up the Gobardhan matha (monastery) as the exception from his other three mathas as a vaishnavite, defined Jagannath as the Supreme one. It is thus not only one of the four Dhams (Holy Places) for Hindus but the most pious and sacred place.
The Quintessential characteristic of its culture and philosophy has made it from Pan-Indian to Pan-Continental. The Car-Festival of Shri Lord Jagannath now not limited to Puri or Orissa rather it is celebrated in global scale, the reverberation echoes of which are heard from Los Angeles to Piccadilly from Heidelberg to Tokyo. The Jagannath culture is not only pre-dominated in Puri but it is global. Its Universal affirmation is secular diffusion of such an attitude is futuristic. It calls for unity in diversity is an age of diverse perversity.
The evolution of Odissi Dance and music out of the Devadasi-institution still enchants all with its mystic rhythm. The Orissan School of architecture emerging from here is a poetry frozen in stone. The Patta-paintings and appliqué work are a craze in the west, particularly in U.S.A. The Shell-craft of Puri have a major appeal. It is thus here at puri that the pattern of a Pan-Indian, culture of tomorrow is on the anvil. People are individual atoms ever contributing their properties to the "matter" of Jagannath Dharma without consciousness of mutual distinctions. Puri belongs to humanity, the seat of an eternal education, the bridge that gulfs the past and the future and the blending of diverse impulses for a single embodiment in the march of all fulfilling time. Temples and sanctuaries, beaches and glorious lakes, colourful, vibrant and the numerous festivals for every reason and for every season that can take on a"Jagannath-like momentum". Puri has then all and much more for all. Excellently connected by air, rail,and road , Puri invites you to its hospitable environs and promises you an experience you will never forget .When others talk of taking you down memory lane. Puri will take you back to your ancient linkages. When others talk of romancing with the stones, her ancient architects and sculptors will show you what it really means.
Demography
Puri had a population of about 157,610. Males constitute about 52% of the population and females around 48%. Puri has an average literacy rate of 75%, higher than the national average of 59.5%. Male literacy is about 80%, and female literacy is approximately 70%. In Puri, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.The Temple
The vast temple complex occupies an area of over 400000 Sq ft, and is bounded by a 20 feet high fortified wall. This complex contains about 120 temples and shrines. The shikhara of the Jagannath temple towers to a height of 192 feet.Structurally the temple has four chambers. The outermost is the Bhogmandir, the next is the Nata-mandir pillared hall for music and dance, the next is the Jagamohana - or the mandapa where devotees gather for worship and the last is the sanctum or the Deul enshrining the deities.
The holy town of temples
Puri, as known to Hindus all over the world, is a holy town located on the eastern coast of India. Besides being a religious centre, Puri is also known for the good stretch of the white sandy beaches on the banks of Bay of Bengal. The easy accessibility from almost all the major towns and cities of India, wide beaches, the fish farms and the superb resorts make it an important tourist destination and a major base for visiting nearby important sites.The famous temple of Lord Jagannath and the annual Rath Yatra festival attract a large number of tourists every year. The Jagannath Temple is one of the four most important Hindu pilgrimage sites or the Chardham, the other three being Dwarka, Badrinath, and Rameshwaram.
The beaches offer breathtaking views of sunrise and sunset and you can also investigate the traditional methods of fishing used by the local fishermen.
History
The kings of the Ganga dynasty consolidated the religious and politucal importance of Puri in the beginning of the 12th century. In 1135, Anantavarman Chodaganga founded the great temple in Puri, anddedicated it to Purushottama, one of the thousand names of Vishnu, the Preserver in the Hindu Trinity. The Gajapati rulers changed the town's name to Jagannath in the fifteenth century. Puri remained a temple town, a holy place till the British realised its potential as a seaside resort. Since then, Puri has developed into a pilgrimage cum holiday destination with the Rath Yatra, the annual festival at the Jagannath Temple still the main draw.The temple was originally built by the Kalinga ruler Anantavarman Chodaganga (1078 - 1148 CE). Much of the present structure was built by King Ananga Bhima Deva in the year 1174 CE. It took 14 years to complete and was consecrated in 1198 CE. It is believed that the image of Jagannath was buried thrice in the Chilka lake for protection from invaders.
Puri represents one of the four peethas established by Sankaracharya, the other four being Sringeri in south India, Dwarka in Saurashtra, and Badrinath in the Himalayas. Ramananda of the 14th century - a follower of the Sri Vaishnava religious leader Ramanuja, is also associated with this temple. Chaitanya of the 15th - 16th centuries popularized the worship of Jagannath.
Puri was originally said to be a thickly wooded hilly region inhabited by pre-Aryan and pre-Dravidian tribes of the Austro-Asiatic linguistic family. Until the 7th and 8th centuries, it was little more than a provincial outpost along the coastal trade route between eastern India and the south. Its religious association began with the Shankaracharya who made Puri one of his maths or centres for the practice of a new, reformed Hinduism. By the 12th century A.D., Puri had become an important pilgrimage centre. Sri Ramanuja is said to have visited Puri between the year 1107 and 1117 century A.D. followed by Vishnu Swami who established the Vishnuswami Matha near Markandeshwar Tank. The town would achieve prominence as the main seat of Vaishnavism, with the arrival of the Gangas at the beginning of the 12th century. In 1135, Anantavarman Chodaganga founded the Purosottama temple, and installed the deities within its premises. In the 15th century, its name was changed to the Jagannath (Lord of the Universe) Temple. The town, popularly called Purosottama Kshetra or Purosottama Puri, was later shortened to Puri by the British.When Puri was taken over by invading Afghans in the 16th century, the Jagannath temple was plundered and reduced to ruins although the priests managed to save and preserve the deities. With the advent of the Marathas who ruled Orissa for a while, the temple was restored once again to its former glory. Subsequently, the British East India Company came to administer this region but allowed the management of the temple to be under the reign of the King of Orissa, Gajapati Maharaj, granting the temple certain privileges. Puri was to stay the capital of the province of Orissa and the headquarters of the Collector until 1816 when the headquarters were shifted to Cuttack - the former administrative centre during Mughal and Maratha rule. On 23rd October 1828, the joint magistrate of Khurda that included Puri was divided into three districts --Balaore, Cuttack and Jagannath (later known as Puri). W. Willkinson was the first Magistrate and Collector of Puri district. The British were the first to realize the commercial benefit of developing Puri as a beach resort.