Neelachal Calling
Best known as one of the Char Dhams or citadels of faith in India,
Puri is the pilgrim resort overlooking the Bay of Bengal. Having
spent my formative years and education period in Odisha, I had many
opportunities to visit Puri- locally reputed as the land of
Neelachal. The pilgrim resort of Puri was founded by Shankracharya
and is renowned as the abode of Lord Jagannath.
For us, the major
attractions of the pilgrim destination have been to visit the shrine
of Lord Jagannath and to get immersed in the magic of sun, sea and
sand at its Golden Beach.
Lord Jagannath Temple
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| Lord Jagannath Temple |
For centuries, the towering shrine of Lord Jagannath belonging to
12th century A.D has been the calling card of the pilgrim
destination of Puri. The huge shrine rising to a height of 65 metres
was the premier monument of the Ganga dynasty of Odisha in bygone
times.
The shrine stands on a raised platform and there are a flight
of 22 steps from the ground. There are grand stone carvings with
fascinating sculptures on the walls and this shrine is one of the
best examples of Kalinga architecture.
I have visited the shrine a number of times and each time, I have
experienced a sense of bliss. During my third visit to the shrine, I
trekked the entire route from Swargadwar to the shrine. The shrine of
Lord Jagannath stands on a wide road called Bada Danda and the
shrine complex has a slew of shrines like Nrising temple, Sarba
Mangala temple, Lakshmi and Vishnu temple. The entrance of shrine is
flanked by lions called Singhadwar that forms a typical feature of
Kalinga School of Art. The presence of an imposing nine feet figure
of Lord Nrising depicts an interesting piece of art.
When one visits Lord Jagannath shrine during evenings, one can get to
hear religious discourses. While visiting the shrine of Lord
Jagannath, we always try to collect the “Mahaprasad” cooked in
Anand Bazaar, regarded as the largest food mart in the world.
Vimala Mata temple
Another attraction of Lord Jagannath shrine is to visit Vimala Mata
shrine devoted to the female goddess and is one of the Shakti Peeths
in India. Devotees are refrained from using their lenses in the
precincts of the shrine.
Gundicha temple
Nearly 2 km away from Jagannath shrine is Gundicha Ghar where Lord
Jagannath along with Balabhadra and Subhadra make their annual
journey during Rath Yatra from the Jagannath shrine and stay
at the small sanctum for a period of eight days.
Golden Beach
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| Puri sea beach |
Once the visit to Jagannath shrine is over, devotees hang out on the
Golden Beach where nature is at its best with the sun, sea and sand
playing a magical rhythm. One can get to view Shankracharya Math on
the Beach Road. The southern end of the Golden Beach has Swargadwar
with the statue of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
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