On the Bay of Bengal, in the state of Orissa, there is a city and a holy location (tirtha).
Puri is most known for its temple dedicated to the god
Jagannath, a local deity who was integrated into the pantheon as a form of
Krishna and, as a result, a form of Vishnu.
After numerous portions of the tower broke off in the early
1990s, the temple was completed in 1198 C.E. and is presently undergoing
much-needed renovation.
The Rath Yatra is the most significant yearly celebration in
Puri.
Jagannath, his brother Balabhadra, and his sister Subhadra
are brought in procession down the city's main thoroughfare in colossal wooden
carts during this event.
They move approximately a mile away to another temple, where
they remain for a week before returning to Puri.
Aside from the spectacle, the event serves as a major
ceremonial theater in which Jagannath and the kings of Puri, who were regarded
his delegates, display their relationship.
Despite the fact that kings no longer possess real authority
in contemporary times, their prestige ensures that they continue to perform an
essential ceremonial function.
Puri is one of India's four dhams, which symbolically
represent the country's physical limits.
It also houses the temple of Jagannath.
The Govardhan Math, one of the four Dashanami Sanyasi holy
sites allegedly created by the philosopher Shankaracharya, is also located
here.
Puri's reputation as a holy city has attracted spiritually
motivated individuals to settle there, including the Bengali saint Chaitanya
(1486–1533), who spent most of his adult life there.
Puri became a hub for the arts as a result of the cultural
life produced by Jagannath worship, and it is the traditional home of the
classical dance style known as Orissi.
Anncharlott Eschmann, Hermann Kulke, and Gaya Charan
Tripathi, The Cult of Jagannath and the Regional Tradition of Orissa, 1978; and
Frederique Apffel Marglin, "Time Renewed: Ratha Jatra in Puri," in T.
N. Madan (ed. ), Religion in India, 1991.
