73. Construction of Jagannath Puri temple

Construction of Jagannath Puri temple:

The old temple of Indradyumna does not exist at present.

The present temple of Jagannath Puri was constructed by King Ananga Bhima. Historians say this temple must have been constructed at least 2,000 years ago. During the time of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1534) the small buildings surrounding the original temple had not been constructed. Nor was the high platform in front of the temple present.

During 9th Century A.D. king Yayati Kesari of Orissa belonging to Soma dynasty built a small temple for Jagannath. But the temple was damaged within a short period, being directly hit by the saline wind of the sea. Then in 12th century A.D. Chodaganga dev, the founder king of the Ganga dynasty of Orissa constructed a temple for Jagannath, which is proved by a verse occuring in the copper-plate grants of later Ganga Kings.

The temple of Jagannath that we see at present is the same temple built by the Ganga king. His grandson Anangabhima dev had completed the construction of the temple. It is said that the entire revenue of the kingdom extending from river Ganga to river Godavari for a period of 12 years, was spent for construction of the temple. This temple is in no way inferior to the Sun temple of Konark or the Lingaraj temple of Bhuvaneswar from an architectural and artistic point of view. But the fine carvings on the exterior of the temple were covered with lime plaster to protect the temple from the saline climate of Puri.

Jagannath Temple Today:

Due to the corrosive salt air in Puri, the massive stone temple has periodically required various repairs. Engineers discovered that the lime was absorbing water during monsoons, and over the past few centuries tons of weight was being added to the super-structure.

Recently, the government's Archaeological Survey of India removed many old lime plaster coatings from the temple and reconditioned the entire outside of the Deula. These had been added in several layers by past kings to protect the building.

Prior to the 1991 Ratha-yatra, a massive stone from atop the temple crashed to the ground. Apparently, water had seeped through the lime into the stone joints and iron frame, causing one stone to loosen.

That one stone weighed an estimated 5 tons! Imagine the work involved to build such a temple 800 years ago, without the use of modern machinery.

The original art and sculptures of the temple have again come to light through the efforts of the Archeological Survey of India which took up the de-plastering in 1975 and completed the work in 1996.

"Non-Hindus" cannot enter the temple, although even Indian-bodied devotees should be careful not to appear too westernized. There was a case of an Indian settled in America, who was stopped for wearing western clothes. He was asked what his gotra (family line) was, but he had forgotten and thus was not allowed in the temple.

The pandas, or temple priests, will only speak in Hindi or Oriya. So if you are an Indian settled outside of India and do not speak Hindi or do not know your gotra, then dress simply and look as "Indian" as possible. "If one is not allowed to enter the temple, or if he thinks himself unfit to enter the temple, he can look at the wheel from outside the temple, and that is as good as seeing the deity within." (Caitanya-caritamṛta Madhya- lilä 11.195, purport)