consecrated the temple
and reinstalled the deities. Raja Mansingh,
a General of the Mughal King Akbar, defeated
the Afghans and annexed Orissa in to the Mughal
dominion. It remained under the Mughals till
1751 A.D. Till 1760, the temple continued
under the Khurda Raja, who was paying tribute
to Mughals and Marhattas. Marhattas took up
direct management of the temple till 1803.
The Britishers annexed Orissa into British
empire in 1803 and allowed Puri Raja to manage
the temple. The position continued till 1947.
Nestling on the eastern
coast along the blue waters of the Bay of
Bengal the unique State of Orissa offers to
her guests a 'tourism capsule' containing
magnificent temples, sunny beaches, colourful
wildlife, traditional tribal culture and a
rich heritage.To her credit, it has housed
the important pilgrimage center for the Hindus
- Puri, the 13th century magic carved on sand
stone - Konark, the largest brackish water
lake of the continent - Chilika, the wonder
greenland of the white tigers - Nandankanan,
and many more caves, Chaityas, Stupas. temples,
forts and palaces. Statistics suggests,most
of the visitors frequent this place for Lord
Jagannath and the blue bay.
While several temples
have vanished or have declined in importance,
the great temple of Lord Jagannath at Puri
is still a living and vibrant temple. Over
the centuries it has attracted kings, conquerers,
religious teachers, devotees and pilgrims.
In the minds of the millions of Indians, Orissa
is the land of Jagannath. This temple of Lord
Jagannath ('Lord of the Universe') at Puri
is one of the most sacred pilgrimage spots
in India, one of the four abodes (dhamas)
of the divine that lie on the four directions
of the compass.
