Orissa Review July - 2008

The Holy City Puri

Lalmohan Patnaik

The holy city of Lord Jagannath is situated on the the Puranas, Sanskrit scriptures and ancient Oriya
sea shore of the Bay of Bengal in Orissa, India. literature. In these ancient texts Puri is described
Puri is the modern name of this holy city. The as Srikshetra, Nilachal, Nilagiri, Purushottam,
geographical location of Puri is Lat 19°47'55"N Purushottam Kshetra, Purushottam Puri, Sankha
Long. 85°49'5". Puri is situated at a distance of Kshetra, Jagannath Dham, Jagannath Kshetra and
63 km. by road (NH Jagannath Puri. Adi
203 stretching from Shanka racharya
NH 5) and 59km. by (788-820) visit ed
railway (East-Coast Puri and founded
Railway) from Go bardhan or
Bhubaneshwar, the Bhogabardhan Matha
capital city of Orissa. here. This proves the
The nearest airport is importance of the holy
Bhubaneshwar. city of Puri as a centre
Puri owes its of Hindu pilgrimage
existence to the great before the 9th century.
temple of Jagannath. Large number of
The sanctity of Puri as pilgrims coming to Puri
an important centre of from all parts of India
pilgrimage is of remote even today calls Puri
antiquity. In 'Orissa as Jagannath Puri.
and Her Remains' Mano Mohan Ganguly In Ain-i-Akbari and other Muslim
observes: "Puri is the seat of Jagannath, the Lord chronicles till the eighteenth century Puri has been
of the Universe; the sanctity of the place exists mentioned as the city of Purushottam. In the early
from pre-historic period where traditions cannot years of British rule, in the Government records,
reach."l Puri has been described as the city of Jagannath
Puri revolves around the great Jagannath and called Jagannath Puri. William Hamilton in
Temple. Not only is the temple holy, but the whole his description of 'Hindostan' (1820) mentions the
of its surroundings has been extolled as holy in city as Jaggernath and Jaggarnath Pooree.

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 Orissa Review
Andrew Stirling in his 'Accounts of Orissa'
published in 1824 describes this place as
Jagannath Pooree and simply Pooree.
Puri is a unique place where all shades of
Hindu religious faith have converged. Dr. Suniti
Kumar Chatterjee, National Professor of India,
in his forword of K.C.Mishra's 'The Cult of
Jagannath' writes;- "Puri or Jagannath is one of
the pan-Indian Hindu religious centres and shrines
and it is of primary importance in modern Hindu
corporate as well as personal religious Iife. The
temple of Jagannath is known all over the world
and people are interested in the history and its
religious surroundings." 2
In modern chronicles and world famous
Gazetteers and Encyclopedias Puri is described
as a famous holy city. In 'The Chamber's World
Gazetteers and Geographical Dictionary' Puri is
narrated as "Puri, Pooree or Jagannath-Orissa,
India, ancient town long sacred as the abode of
the Golden Tooth of Buddha, but owing its
reputation to a temple (1174-1188) to Vishnu as
Jagannath (Lord of the World)."3 But the
'Britannica Ready Reference Encyclopedia'
depicts:" Jagannath as form under which Lord
Krishna is worshiped at Puri, Orissa, a famous
religious centre of India. His temple at Puri dates
from the 12th century. The Rath Yatra or Chariot
Festival is held in his honour each year in June or
July."4 The Hutchinson's New 20th Century
Encyclopedia' indicates-"Puri (Poori) town in
Orissa, India, on the Bay of Bengal the shrine of
Jagannath (q.v.) is there, dating from C.A.D. 318;
the annual festival attracts thousands of pilgrims".5
But in the 'Jagannath Charitramruta'
Jagannath has been described as the Supreme
Lord or 'Purna Brahma', where as Krishna
represents only a part of his glory.6 This is not the
place to go into these arguments and counter-
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July - 2008
arguments. Actually Jagannath is never a sectarian
deity. The Jagannath worship at Puri is an
assimilation of divergent modes of worship of
different religions, creeds and sects. In the daily
rituals and annual festivals of Sri Jagannath temple
at Puri, Hindu, Jain, Buddhist, Saivite, Shakta,
Tantric and Vaishnavite influences are clearly
discernible. The cult of Jagannath is an epitome
of divergent religious creeds and schools of
philosophy.
This holy city of Puri is also a great center
of learning. Adi Shankaracharya,
Ramanujacharya, Ballavacharya, Sri Chaitanya,
Atibadi Jagannath Das, Guru Nanak, Bhakta
Kabir and heads of different other Sampradayas
and creeds have come to this sacred shrine and
established there Mathas and Ashrams in this holy
city. These Ashrams and Mathas are patronizing
different schools of study and learning here. The
Sri Jagannath Sanskrit University and the Rastriya
Sanskrit Sansthana's, Sadashiv Campus here are
great centers of Sanskrit learning. The world
famous 'Odissi dance' and 'Odissi sangeet' have
their roots in Puri.
For centuries now the blue sea at Puri,
called sacred 'Mahodadhi', has been the venue
of countless pilgrims taking the traditional
purification dip. Puri beach offers the rare
opportunity of witnessing the colorful sunrise and
sunset on the same beach where they can bathe
and laze for hours on the golden sand. The world
famous Travellers Guide - 'The Illustrated Guide
to India of the Reader's Digest' describes Puri as
one of India's most important pilgrimage centers.
This Sea-side town is dominated by the Towering
Jagannath Temple. Early European sailors, for
whom 65m. (213 ft) high spire was an important
landmark, called it -'White Pagoda' to differentiate
it from Konark's Sun Temple which they called
'Black Pagoda'. Puri beach is other attraction .7
 Orissa Review
Puri is also the seat of numerous artisans
and craftsmen who produce rare and exquisite
world famous stone sculptures, handicrafts,
wood-carvings, sea-shell items and Patta paintings
depicting several aspects of the Jagannath culture.
This holy city's sacredness is inherent in the
sacred "Mahaprasad' of Mahaprabhu Sri
Jagannath. The Puri District Gazetteer observes:"
it is on record that as many as 435 items of food
were being offered to the deities at Madhyana
Dhupa in 1910."8 The 'Anand Bazar' of Sri Mandir
can feed more than one lakh people in a day. In
this holy city the pilgrims and tourists get the
sumptuous taste of several varieties of nutritious
Orissan food in typical Oriya recipes.
The people of Puri are simple, friendly,
hospitable and helpful. There are large number of
Dharmashalas, Lodging Houses and all categories
of Hotels, Holiday Homes, Guest Houses and
Tourist Bungalows to serve lakhs of pilgrims and
tourists in this holy city.
In Orissa, particularly in the holy city of Puri,
Purushottam Jagannath is a living God enshrined
in the hearts of the children of the soil. Here Sri
Jagannath forms a part and parcel of the religious,
social and cultural ethos of the people. The spirit
of tolerance and co-existence are the basic tenets
of Orissan culture.
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July - 2008
References:
1. M.M. Ganguly, 'Orissa and Her Remains',
Calcutta -1912, Page 398.
2. Dr. Suniti Kumar Chatterjee's Forword: "The Cult
of Jagannath" K.C. Mishra, Page-VII, Firma KLM
Pvt. Ltd. Calcutta 1984.
3. Chamber's World Gazetteers & Geographical
Dictionary, Edited by T.C. Callocott, M.A and
J.O. Thorne M.A., Pub. - W&R Chambers Ltd.,
Edinburgh, London - 1961, Page-550.
4. Britannica Ready Reference Encyclopedia, Vol.-
5, Page-166. Encyclopedia Britannica Pvt. Ltd.,
New Delhi - 2006.
5. Hutchinson's New 20th Century Encyclopedia.
Edited by: E.M. Horsley, Publisher : Hutchinson
of London, Revised edition 1970, Page 879.
6. Jagannath Charitramrita-Union Printing Works,
Cuttack, Page 169.
7. Illustrated Guide to India, A Reader's Digest &
Penguin India Book, 2005, Page- 312.
8. Orissa District Gazetteers - Puri, Page-809, Sri
Nilamani Senapati, ICS (Rtd.) Chief Editor,
Department of Revenue, Govt of Orissa.
Lalmohan Patnaik lives at N-197, I.R.C Village,
Bhubaneswar-751 015.