Puri~ The land of Lord Jagannath
Hello friends, today I will take you to a place which is very much known to all of you. But this is the story of exploring the place in a different way. So, lets start our journey and hope you will enjoy the story and moreover, this story will help you in your next visit to this small town.
Puri, a much visited tourist destination and a well known pilgrimage place for Hindus and Sikhs all over the world. There are many people from the state of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Tamilnadu, Telengana and Odisha, who visits Puri once in every year. The main moto of everyone visiting Puri is to have a glimpse of Lord Jagannath, and then have a weekend fun at the famous Puri Sea Beach. But if you want to explore Puri, there are a lot for you. Lets start our journey to explore such places and enjoy Puri in a different way. Next time while visiting Puri this places will enhance your weekend enjoyment and if you are a devoted pilgrim, these places are must visit for you.
So, lets start our journey from the famous Jagannath Temple. The Jagannath Temple is situated at a distance of 3km from the Puri Railway Station and 2km from the Swargadwar Sea beach. There are a lot of controversies about the history of the Jagannath Temple, in which year and who had built the temple here. According to a Copperplate Inscription found at Kendupatna village, it is said that the modern temple was built by Maharaja Anantavarman I of Ganga Dynasty in 12th century. But according to another copper plate inscription, there was another old temple on this location dedicated to Lord Vishnu, and the Ganga Dynasty king actually had renovated the older temple and provided it with more fortifications. So, it is not possible still now, to calculate the age of the Puri Jagannath Temple. So, a lot of folklores and myths come to take the place of History. As Puri is a well known tourist destination, these folklores and myths are very common and almost everyone have a great knowledge about those.
But according to some reliable sources of history of Puri it is believed that at the place where presently the Lord Jagannath Temple of Puri stands, there was another temple, dedicated to Lord Nrusingha, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. In 817CE, King Devapala of Bengal invaded Odisha and while his conquest of Odisha his forces razed off many Buildings and Temples. The old temple of Lord Nrusingha was severely damaged by this Pala Invasion.
Again in 1570s CE. Kalapahad, an army chief of the Sultan of Gour fled away to Odisha after Mughal forces took control over a large part of Gour under the leadership of Raja Mann Singh of Amber. Kalapahad used the sea route and entered Konark, where he first damaged the famous Sun Temple and then headed towards Puri and plundered a lot of valuables from the temple and the city. According to some historians, Kalapahad, alias Muhammad Farmal was previously a brahmin and an official of the Gajapati King of Khorda but after marrying a muslim women he was sacked from the forces. Later he joined the Gour Sultanate to take revenge against the King. But some sources said that the Gajapati King of Utkal had some tight relationships with the Sultans of Gour. In 1568CE Sultan sent a force against Raja Mukund Deo under the leadership of Kalapahad, in which the Odisha King was defeated and a large part of the kingdom was conquered by Kalapahad. Then the King, who had a good relation with Mughal emperor Akbar, convinced the Mughals to give a tough lesson to the Gour Sultanate and somehow arrest and bring Kalapahad in front of him. After which Mughal forces attacked Gour. When Kalapahad was fleeing from Mughal forces somehow he came to know that the Gajapati King is the man behind the Mughal attack, he attacked Odisha and looted and plundered the Temples, which were used as the Govt. treasury during Gajapati Rule. It is after these two raids it is observed that no Non-Hindu is allowed to visit the Temple.
About visiting Jagannath Temple, it is better to take an auto rickshaw as the roads leading to the Temple is very crowded and there are many traffic restrictions due to security of the temple. If you want to visit the temple in a comparitively less crowded time, try to visit in early morning or late evening, after the Dhwaja ceremony ends. If you want to see Dhwaja ceremony or want to dedicate a Dhwaja, obviously contact a panda earlier to know the timings on that particular date and keep extra time to reach the temple on time. During Dhwaja ceremony the temple is most crowded.
As many of you are already aware of the story of Jagannath, I am not taking much of your time here. Lets start our journey towards the Gundicha Temple, which is wellknown as Masir Bari among Tourists. The Road Taking you to Gundicha Temple from the Main Temple is called Grand Road. Must notice the Width of the road. Actually during the time of Rathyatra, the Ratha of Shree Jagannath, Balaram and Suvadra takes this road to reach the Gundicha Temple.
Now the question is why this temple is known as 'Gundicha Temple'? Actually, in Odisha, one will find the word Gundicha in many places. According to Odiya Folktales, Gundicha Devi is the Aunt of Lord Jagannath. Again in Western Odisha, Gundicha is a form of Goddess Durga. But, in Puri, there is a different story about Gundicha. It is said that, Raja Indradyumna constructed the main temple of Puri. He appointed Viswakarma as the main sculpture of the deity of Lord Jagannath. Rani Gundicha was his wife. When Viswakarma was sculpting the deity, Rani Gundicha once peeped into the room where Viswakarma was working. Seeing the deity, Rani told Raja Indradyumna to keep this deity in the Temple at the palace of Raja. But Raja has got order from Lord Jagannath, about the place of the temple. Raja told Rani Gundicha that he will not keep this deity at the palace temple. Hearing this Rani got saddened. One day Lord Jagannath came to the dreams of Rani Gundicha and said he is pleased with the prayers of Rani and will visit the Royal Palace once in a year, and the Raja has to prepare the arrangement for his arrival. From this, the festival of Rathyatra of Puri started and the temple of the palace premises is known as the Gundicha Temple in the name of Rani Gundicha. Though according to historians there are no proven facts about Raja Indradyumna and Rani Gundicha.
After visiting Gundicha Temple, it is time to visit the Athara Nala Bridge. This bridge is 85mtr long, made up of Laterite stone. Once this bridge was over the Daya river, which presently changed its course and had gone about 4-5Km South of Puri Town. Raja Nrusingha Deva of Ganga Dynasty built this bridge. On the way to the Athara Nala Bridge from Gundicha Temple one can also visit the Narendra Sarowar. It is also called Chandan Pokhari, as during the time of Chandan Jatra, all the deities of the Puri Jagannath Temple is brought to this place and applied chandan paste and washed with the holy water of this pond. As Raja Narendra Dev beautified the pond by building 16 Ghats, this pond is also called Narendra Sarowar.
Now, we have to leave for Chakrateertha Road by taking an Auto Rickshaw. In Chakrateertha Road area, there are two important temples -- The Chakra Nrusingha Temple and The Beri Hanuman Temple, which are very much associated with the Folklores and Legends of Puri. Lets start our exploration from Chakra Nrusingha Temple. In a local folklore it is said that, Raja Indradyumna has a plan of sculpting the idol of Lord Jagannath with Sandalwood. One night, when Raja was asleep Lord Jagannath came in his dreams and ordered that the idol can only be sculpted by that wood, which would be brought to the shore of Puri by Lord Varuna, the god of the seas. Later One morning, the Raja came to know that there was a huge block of wood that had float ashore from a distant land. As soon as Raja heard about this block of wood, Raja commemorate the orders from Lord Jagannath. This Chakra Nrusingha Temple is said to be that point from where the block of wood was received by Raja Indradyumna. This Temple is dedicated to Lord Nrusingha, an Incarnation of Lord Vishnu. It is believed that, during the period of Rath Yatra, Lord Nrusingha takes care of the town of Puri and its people.
A few minutes walk from the Chakra Nrusingha Temple is the Beri Hanuman Temple. It is said that, Lord Jagannath had given the duty of safeguarding the town of Puri from Lord Varuna, the God of the Seas, to Lord Hanuman. Hanuman was happy to be associated with his new job but on the other hand he was missing Lord Rama at Ayoddha. One night Hanuman felt sad for Lord Rama and left out for Ayoddha. On that very night the god of the seas found the Gateway of the temples unguarded and opted to have a sight of Lord Jagannath. As Lord Varuna visited the temple, the sea water also came with him to the gateway of the main temple and drenched the town. Common people of Puri and the pilgrims suffered a lot for this activity of Lord Varuna. They immediately came to the temple of Lord Jagannath and reported their sufferings to the lord. Hearing to their complains, Lord Jagannath got enraged by the callous act of the Sea God, and asked him immediately to leave the temple and the town. On the other hand, he found that Hanuman is missing from his original position. When Hanuman came back to Puri next day early morning, angry Lord Jagannath ordered the King of Puri to supply him the hardest and tightest of the rope available locally and fasten Hanuman tightly with that rope somewhere in Puri, from where hanuman can have a close watch of the Sea water and Lord Varuna. It is said that the Beri Hanuman Temple, just by the side of the sea shore, is that place where Lord Jagannath tied Lord Hanuman.
After visiting these two temples, one can also visit the Sonar Gouranga Shrine nearby, but this temple has nothing association with the legendary tales of Puri. This is a temple dedicated to Chaitanya Dev, a figure of Bhakti Movement in Bengal, who visited Puri and stayed here till his last days. The deity here in the temple is Lord Krishna with his flute, as disciples of Chaitanya Dev worships Chaitanya Dev as an incarnation of Lord Krishna.
After a lot of Temple visit, now its time to have some other activities. Puri is welknown for its sea beach. It would be wonderful to have a sea bath here in the beaches if weather permits. If you are not having a bath, must enjoy bright sunshines by the side of the sea and have some taste of local sweets and snacks in the sea beach. To beat the heat must drink coconut water. And watch the Puri croud all day long. Puri, being an important pilgrimage centre, it is from here where one can observe the croud and by watching this croud one can have a great knowledge about people of India, their choice, their behavior, their believes and their religious and social practices. No where in the country, except Varanasi, one can have such a beautiful view of Indian people. And to watch this closely a trip to Puri is much recommended, even if you are not a devotee. And if you are a nature lover, don't miss the sunrise moments here and the time just after sunset.
Lastly, lets have a story, which is very much associated with the history of Puri. Once in 1508CE, Guru Nanak visited Puri with few of his followers. Guru Nanak wanted to pay his tribute to Lord Jagannath, but local priests and powerful people of Puri did not allow him to enter the Temple and forced them to flee from the main town of Puri and take refuge somewhere near the seas. Guru Nanak was very sad after this incidence and thought that may be he had some previous sins for which God did not allowed him to enter the temple. Next day early morning, Nanak while taking bath in the sea got a holy darshan of Lord Jagannath in the sea water for a very short time. Shocked Nanak got it more shocking when he saw some of his disciples coming towards the sea calling him. Guru Nanak discovered the Royal guards from the Puri Royal family along with the King is waiting for him. As soon as the King saw Guru Nanak, the King sought for apology for his men's misdeed previous day and invited Guru Nanak to the Temple. Guru Nanak not only visited the Temple and also performed the Aarti of Lord Jagannath at the point near the sea where Lord Jagannath gave him his holy Darshan. It is said that the doors of Puri Jagannath Temple is closed for all Non-Hindus, except Sikhs. Later on a Gurdwara had been built at the position where Guru Nanak performed Aarti and a lot of Sikh pilgrims too visit Puri as this town is associated with Guru Nanak.
These are the Legends and history associated with different lesser known temples and places associated with Lord Jagannath at Puri. So, when you are visiting Puri next time you can visit these places with a detailed knowledge about these places. Hopefully you have enjoyed this story. So, for today, its all over. Will be coming shortly with some other story of some other place very soon. Thanks a lot for your time and please share this content with your friends and near ones who wants to explore Puri in a different way.
Wonderful read! Had no idea about the Sikh connection. Looking forward to the next one.
ReplyDeleteThanks.. Actually the Sikh Gurdwara is at the Baliapanda area, near the light house.. As it is away from the temple area and Swargadwar area many people are not aware of the connection... In fact, before my last trip in 2023, I had no idea about that Gurdwara's significance.. Though being a frequent visitor to Puri, I had seen a lot of Sikhs in Puri and Puri bound trains...
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