Puri district General information
Puri is a district of Orissa state, India, which includes the city of Puri.It has the legendary Jaggannath Temple, one of the 4 pilgrimage centres of India.
History
Like many other parts of Orissa , in the Puri District , river gravels and slits may be included among the various Pleistone formations. But no formationof this period has so far yielded any type of pre-historic stone tool though they are found in a large number from similar formations (river gravels,secondary laterite pits and murrams) in the districts of Dhenkanal, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Sundargarh. So whatever information we have regarding the pre-historic cultures of this districts are mainly derived from different types of stone tools collected from the surface.
Origin of Name
The District has been named after its head quartes town, Puri.According to Cunningham the ancient name of this town was Charitra mentioned by the Chinese piligrim Hiuen Tsang as Che-li-ta-lo. But the restoration of the word Che-li-ta-lo as Charitra and its identification with the town of Puri are open to doubt. The importance of the town as a seat of Vaisnavism increased when
Chodaganga Deva constructed the temple of Purusottama Jagannath and installed the images of the deities. Thereafter , it became famous as the abode of Purusottama and was popularly called purusottama Kshetra.
In the drama Anargharaghava Natakam attributed to cir.9th century A.D. we find the name Purusottama applied to this town . In the Nagari Plate of Anangabhima III of the Saka year 1151-52 i.e., 1229-30 A.D. , the place is called Purusottama Kshetra . This name in the form of Purusottama Chhatar or only in the form Chhatar was used by the Mughal , the Maratha as well as the early British rulers in their official records . even in Yoginitantra and Kalikapurana the city is reffered to as Purusottam . Puri region was also known as Utkal.
The name Purusottama Kshetra was also for sometimes known as purusottama Puri and as the word Purusottama Kshetra was contracted into Kshetra or Chhatra so also Purusottama Puri was expressed in the contracted form Puri . Infact , in many early British records this town is known by the name Pooree. In modern times Puri has become the most popular of all the other names of this town.
Topography
The whole of the district may be divided into two dissimilar natural divisions
1) The littoral tract
ii) The level alluvial tract
i) The littoral Tract-: The strip of the country lies between the alluvial and the Bay of Bengal. It assumes the form of a bear but sandy ridger which stretches along the sea- shore for the full length of the District , Varying from 6.5 Km. to a few hundred metres in with . Accumulations of wind blown sand give rise to ridges parellel to the coast. It forms the dividing line between the Chilika lake and the ocean
The Level Alluvial tract
This level of alluvial region is full of villages and rice fields, , watered by a network of channels, through which the water of distributaries of the most southerly branch of Mahanadi , find their way to the sea. There is no hill in Puri District except a small cultivate land are under plough. Generally biali or autumn rice , sarada or winter rice and dalua or spring rice these three types of rice are cultivated.
Sea-coast Bays
The length of the sea-coast of the district of Puri is nearly 150.4 km. Sandy ridges are found along the sea-coast which stretch into the diostrict Jagatsingpur and Ganjam . One such sandy spit divides the lake Chilika from Bay of Bengal . These sandy ridges and dunes are formed by the strong monsoon currents which blow over the country for nearly 8 months of the year . The ridges vary from about 7 km to a few metres in width and have prevented most of the rivers of the district from finding their way into the ocean.
Island
No Island is found in the coastal waters of Puri , but the Chilika lake is separated from the Bay of Bengal by a group of Islands.
Port
Puri is endowed with no natural harbour nor its coast is suitable for any artifitial one.
River system
All the rivers of Puri distict have a common characteristics . In the hot weather they are beds of sand with tiny streams or none at all , while in the rains they recieve more water than they can carry .Generally all rivers are distrributaries of Mahanadi rivers.
1) Kushabhadra- A branch of Kuakhai river starts from Balianta meets Bay of Bengal at the shrine Ramachandi , 15 miles east of Puri dhanua ande its tributary mugei joins with Kushabhadra.
2) Daya-A branch of Kuakhai river falls in Chilika lake . Two small rivers enter the Daya, the Gangua and the Managuni below Kanas. An important problem in connection with dayais that the Chilika lake at its outfall is silting up.
3) bhargabi - A branch of Kuakhai meets the Bay of Bengal after breaking up into numerous branches in the last two and half miles of its course.
There are four main branches all taking off from the left bank.viz. Kanchi , the east Kania , the Naya nadi and the South kanchi falls in Sarlake; and by various channel the first three are interconnected and finally join the Suna munhi river which falls into Bali Harchandi and ultimately to the Bay of Bengal via the mouth of Chilika. The South kania gets lost in the marshes on the western shore of Chilika.
There are two small rivers Ratnachira and Nuna falls in Bhargabi and Daya respectively.
Kadua -It is a Monsoon stream which falls into Prachi.
Prachi- It is the branch commencing from Puri and Jagatsinghpur district . It has the origin near Kantapara on Cuttack-Gop road and passing through the village of Kakatpur fall in Bay of Bengal.
Devi-It is branch of Kathajori .It runs into Puri district near the extreme east forming numerous branches.
Lakes and Tanks
The Chilika lake
The Sar Lake
Culture
Puri is one of the fascinating littoral district of Orissa .The Cultural heritage of Puri with its long recorded history beginning from third century B.C till present day, The monuments and religious sanctity, way of life of the people with their rich tradition posses emphatically to be the cultural heart of Orissa .In deed Puri is consider cultural capital of Orissa .The culture here is flourished with its manifold activities.
The District has the happy conglomerate of different religions,sects and faith in course of history, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh,jains, Christian and tribals found here in the District. The Hindu monuments of various sectors like saivism,Bishnavism, Sak ticult, Ganapatya,Mohabir etc are found. Similarly Muslim Mosques, Christian Churches are also noticed here.
Arts and Crafts
The lovely wall paintings seen on houses are very much eye-catching, whether painted with colours or powdered rice water. The traditional patta paintings are painted on the traditional treated cloth with a laequered hard surface and original colour combinations. The theme of such paintings mostly revolves around Lord Jagannath. The sets of 96 circular playing cards with traditional charming paintings called " Ganjappa " are much sought after by Connoisseurs. Raghurajpur a road side village about 14 Kms away from Puri towards Bhubaneswar and Chitrakara Sahi in Puri Town houses these artisans The Palm leaf painters are also seen on the job in this village Raghurajpur which is proud of her products-artisans and painters. These paintings are done by the palm-leaf etching technique which are formed by stitching together rows of the leaves. They can be folded into a compact pile, then opened up easily.
Tourist Place
Jagannath Temple Puri
The Temple of Lord Jagannath built during the 12th century A.D. by Chodaganga Deva dominates the landscape for kilometers around. Being the tallest temple (65 metres) in Orissa, it is one of the most magnificent pieces of monuments of India. In front of the main gate stands a 16 sided monolithic pillar (11 metres high), called Aruna Stambha which formally stood in front of the Sun Temple and was brought to Puri during the 18th century A.D. Some of the other important temples are :
Gundicha Temple,Puri
Lokonath Temple,Puri
Jambeswar temple,Puri
Sapta Matruka images near Markandeswar tank Puri
Sun Temple,Konark
Barahi Temple,at Chourasi,in Nimapara Block
Mangala Temple,Kakatpur
Sakhigopal Temple,at Sakhigopal
Amareswar Temple, at Amareswar,Nimapara Block
Sculpture shed at Bishnupur,Nimapara
Gramswar Temple,Terundia,Nimapara
Alarnath Temple,Brhamgiri
Baliharachandi Temple,Brhamagiri,Block
Kunteswar Temple,Araorh,Pipil Block
Harihar Temple,near Pipil
Shiva Temple,Jagadalpur at Delang Block
Tara image at Badatara,Gop
Bayalisbati Temple,near Gop
Mohabir Temple,Siruli Sadar Block
Kurum
It is 80 Km away from Konark.The excavation work conducted here reveal the remains at Buddhists artifacts at 10 th century A.D.
Manikapatana
It is in Krushnaprasad block from which the remains at mediaeval period are found.
Klkha patana on Puri Konark Marine drive road where the remains of 15th century was found.
Museum
District Museum Puri
With a view to preserve and project our rich cultural heritage, the district Museum at Puri is functioning since 1997. It is one of the branch museum of Orissa state museum and managed by Govt of Orissa. Different veshas of Lord Jagannath, Sculptures of various Kinds, Patta paintings oalm leaf paintings, Handicrafts of numerous varieties are displayed in this museum. It is located at the station road, Puri-2. There is no entry fee for visiting this museum.
Another handicraft museum is situated at Batagaon, 5 Kms formPuri on puri Bhubaneswar road. It is managed by a Co-operative Society.
Libraries
Dist Library
The Dist library of Puri is situated at station road and having more than 15000 books daily News paper and Magazines are brought to this library regularly. It is managed by dept of culture, Govt of Orissa. Anyone interested can read in this library. There is no lending facilities.
Panchasakha Memorial Hall Library, Sakhigopal
This library is also managed by department of culture, Orissa. It has more than 4000 books at its stock. Monday is the weekly holidays. To extend library activities in rural areas, registered libraries functioning at different parts of the district are encouraged with various distance from Raja Ram Mohan Roy Library Foundation Calcutta through State Govt.
Places of Interest around Puri
Balighai (8 km)
The Casuarina fringed Balighai beach is a famous picnic spot. The Sun and fun at the mouth of the river Nuanai is unforgettable.
Brahmagiri (25 km)
Brahmagiri is known for the living shrine of Alarnath. Streams of pilgrims visit Alarnath during Anabasara of Lord Jagannath. Nearby is the shrine of Baliharachandi on the solitary sand dunes.
Satyabadi (20 km)
Satyabadi or Sakshigopal is known for the shrine of Lord Sakshigopal. It is believed that the visit to Puri is incomplete without a visit to Sakshigopal. The temple is only 2 km away from the main road leading to Puri and is convenient to visit.
Baliharachandi (27 km)
27 km to the south-west of Puri is the temple of Baliharachandi. Situated on a sandy hill near the sea and adjacent to the mouth of the river Bhargavi, Goddess Durga is worshipped here as Baliharachandi. The scenic beauty of this place is ideal for group picnic.
Raghurajpur (16 km)
One of the most famous artists village in Orissa, the village of Raghurajpur boasts not only of the exquisite pattachitra's and talapattachitra's, but also of being the native place of Guru kelucharan Mohapatra, the famed Odissi dancer. Even today, under the tutelage of renowned Guru's, young boys can be seen practicing the Gotipua dance here. A visit to Orissa would definitely be incomplete without a visit to this little village.
Satapara (52 km)
Satapara, a retreat in nature on Chilika Lake, has been thrown open to visitors. Its location near the confluence of the Lake with the Bay of Bengal, and proximity to Puri (52 km), makes it an ideal spot to enjoy Chilika. The thrilling sight of dolphins round the year and abundance of migratory and resident birds in winter make it a preferred place for a vacation with nature.