Puri is synonymous with Lord Jagannath. The city, known also as Purusottama, in accordance with the Hindu tradition is called Sankha Kshetra (the conch shell), one of the four kshetras in which the holy land of Orissa is divided and named after the four weapons of Vishnu: the conch shell (sankha), the disc (chakra), the mace (gada) and the lotus (padma). The shape of a conch shell is traditionally used to map all the sacred places in the city like temples, sacred tanks, etc. with Lord Vishnu residing in the navel of the shell in the form of Sri Jagannath Temple.
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The city knew his wealth in the xii century after the construction of the Jagannath Temple one of the biggest temple of Orissa. Closed to non hindus the only way to see the temple is from is the roof of the library opposite the East gate. We climbed up to the terrace escorted by the librarian wielding a long stick to fend off the monkeys. From there we had a fine view of the immense deul, with the wheel (chakra) of Vishnu at the top and the long scarlet pennant that announces the presence of Lord Jagannath.
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The architecture of the temple follows the classical Orissan temples structure with the Bhogmandir and Natmandir added to the Jagmohana-Deul group together with dozens of subsidiary shrines surrounded by high walls. On each side there is a pyramidal roofed gate: the Lion Gate (east), the Horse Gate (south), the Tiger Gate (west) the Elephant Gate (north). The elaborate carvings of the walls have been exposed after the recent completion of de-plastering of temple walls. On the left we noticed the kitchens where the mahaprashad, the food offered to the deity, is prepared.
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The crowded streets around the Jagannath temple are buzzing with activity. In front of the temple East gate terminates the Grand road (Bada Danda) the main street of Puri. This large avenue is lined with bazaars and stalls with images of Lord Jagannath, his brother and his sister on sale everywhere. The temple doorway is usually jammed with pilgrims. In front of the gateway there is the column topped by a figure of Aruna, the charioteer of the sun god that once stood before the Surya temple in Konarak.
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From the temple East gate following Swargadwar Rd we walked south and reached the beach nearby the cremation ground. Along the way we found several temples: in one of them we noticed the colourful sculptures of Saptamatrikas, with all of them except Chamunda associated with babies, and of the Dasamahavidya the ten forms of goddess Devi. We arrived at the promenade along the Puri beach around sunset when it was full tourists and families. Mostly overlooked by shabby hotels, the beach promenade to the north leads you to the fishing village one of the biggest in Orissa, with dozens of fishing boats along the sandy shore.
Another enjoyable foray was the trip in rickshaw form Jagannath temple at the Narendra Sagar, Puri's most holy tank. In the centre of the tank there is a small temple called Chandana mandapa connected with the south bank with a bridge.
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During our stay in Puri we spared half a day for a boat trip in the Chilika lake. After a pleasant 50km drive trough the beautiful Orissan countryside we reached Satapada were the Orissa Tourism Development Corporation arranges the boat trips to the Dolphin-Point and Sea-Mouth. If it were not for the fortunate spot of a couple of Irrawaddy dolphins, Orcaella brevirostris, the major tourist attraction of this large and mostly featureless inland lagoon, the boat trip would have been a little boring.
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