Category: orissa

Chakratirtha or Chakra Narayana temple is an important spiritual site of Jagannath Puri. Chakratirtha is situated on the Chakra Tirtha Road at the Puri beach on the east side of Jagannath temple. There are three main deities in this temple – Narasimha, Chakra Narayana, and Adi Narayana. There is also a small temple devoted to Varuna deva, who is the father of Lakshmi devi and father-in-law of Lord Jagannath. Deities of Jagannath, Baladeva, and Subhadra are also worshiped in this temple.

Lord Narasimha is the fearsome half man-half lion form of the Supreme Lord Krishna, who had manifested Himself out of a pillar to protect His devotee Prahlada from the hands of demon Hiranyakashipu, his father. Hiranyakashipu was a mighty demon who had almost become immortal having been granted boons by Brahma. Hiranyakashipu wreaked havoc by conquering all of the three worlds in this material universe. No one could dare stand up against him in any war. The demigods were overthrown from their kingdoms in heaven and were made to bow at the demon’s feet. Hiranyakashipu was finally killed by Lord Narasimha deva who placed the demon on His lap and ripped open his body with His fingernails.

When Namacharya Srila Haridas Thakur passed away in Jagannath Puri, Lord Chaitanya led a procession carrying the body of Haridas to the sea. Chanting and dancing, Mahaprabhu bathed the body of Haridas Thakur. He then proclaimed that the sea (Mahodadhi) had become a great site of pilgrimage from then on as it had touched the transcendental body of Haridas. 

haridase samudra jale snana karaila
prabhu kahe – “samudra ei ‘maha-tirtha’ haila”
(Chaitanya Charitamrta, Antya, 11.64)

Like the holy Ganga and Yamuna rivers, the ocean at Puri (Mahodadhi) is a purifying sacred place of pilgrimage. The ocean here is deemed a great pilgrimage site (Maha-tirtha). Every day, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would take bath in the ocean and take darsana of the Nila-chakra of Lord Jagannath’s temple, offering His obeisances to it. He also instructed His devotees to follow His example.

How to Reach :

The sea lies to the south of the Jagannath temple at Puri. Puri beach or the Golden beach lies on the shores of the Bay of Bengal.

Accommodation – One can choose to stay in any of the prominent hotels of Jagannath Puri.

Nearest Railway station – Jagannath Puri Railway Station

Nearest major airport – Biju Patnaik International Airport, Bhubaneswar. 

At the time of writing this article, there is another airport presently being constructed at Jagannath Puri. However, this airport at Puri has not yet become operational.

Bedi Hanuman, as the name suggests, is the chained Hanuman temple and is a small temple by the sea on the east of the Jagannath Puri temple. It is also called the Daria Mahavir Temple; Daria means ‘sea’ and Mahavir is an alternate name of Lord Hanuman. The temple is not far from Chakratirtha. The deity of Hanuman who is worshiped here is about four feet in height and faces towards the east. Here Hanuman is also worshiped by other names like Chari-Chakra Hanuman and Ashta-bhuja Hanuman.

Situated midway on the grand road, at Balagandi square, there is a small temple devoted to Goddess Mausi Maa. Mausi Maa temple is located on the right side of the Grand Road leading from the Jagannath temple towards Gundicha temple. This small temple was built by a King of the Keshari dynasty. Mausi Maa (the mother’s sister) is revered as the aunt of Lord Jagannath. The word ‘Mausi Maa’ is a blend of two words, ‘Mausi’ and ‘Maa’. In Odia language ‘Mausi’ means ‘Aunt’ and ‘Maa’ means ‘mother’ or in this case ‘Goddess’. She is regarded as one of the eight Shaktis (ashta-shakti) of Srikshetra Jagannath Puri. 

Markandeya Sarovar is a large water body located southwest of Jagannath Mandir in the Markandeshwar-Sahi area. Markandeya Sarovar is an open structure and it is enclosed within a stone wall made of dressed laterite blocks. Bathing ghats are provided for the tourists on the southern side of the tank. The tank is used for rituals as well as for normal bathing. The great Vaishnava sage Markandeya Rishi resides here worshiping a Shiva Deity named Markandeshvara Mahadeva, one of Puri’s Pancha Mahadevas. Sri Madan Mohan, Jagannath deva’s festival deity, enacts His Kaliya-mardana pastimes (crushing the Kaliya serpent) here in this holy water tank. If one bathes in Markandeya Sarovar, and then takes Darshan of the Markandeswar Shiva linga here, he obtains the pious result of performing both Rajasuya and Asvamedha-yajnas. There is a deity of Markandeya Rishi and Shiva linga named Markandeswara Mahadeva who is worshiped here. This ancient tank along with its yajna vedi in the middle is the oldest among the Pancha tirthas (Sweta Ganga, Indradyumna Sarovar, Markandeya Sarovar, Rohini Kunda, and the Sea) of Srikshetra.

Visakha math is an exalted site of Jagannath Puri that had been established by Sri Narahari Sarkar Thakur, who was the incarnation of Sakhi Madhumati, in Krishna’s Vrindavana pastimes. Beautiful Gaura Gadadhara deities of Narahari Sarkar Thakur are presently worshiped here at Visakha math, in Jagannath Puri. Enchanting deities of Jagannath-Baladeva-Subhadra and numerous Saligram silas also grace the temple altar.