Essay name: Temples of Purushottama Kshetra Puri
Author:
Ratnakar Mohapatra
Affiliation: Sambalpur University / Department of History
This essay studies the Temples of Purushottama Kshetra (Puri) which is renowned for its historic and religious significance, situated in Orissa (Odisha) by the Bay of Bengal. Purusottama-ksetra is famous for the Lord Jagannatha temple and numerous smaller temples, it showcases the distinctive Kalinga architectural style.
Chapter 1 - Introduction
16 (of 24)
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Other notable temples of the kṣetra are Narasimha, Nila-Madhava, Nārāyaṇa, Sākhi-Gopāla, Gunḍicā, Surya-Nārāyaṇa, Siddha Mahāvir, Dariā- Mahāvir, Badri-Nārāyaṇa, Dakṣiṇakaḷ�, Syāmākāḷ�, Alām caṇḍī, Toṭ�-Gopinātha, Varāhī, Beṇu-Mādhava, Mangaḷ�, Gopinātha, Bāṭa-Lokanātha, Kṣetrapāḷa, Rāma Candi, Hara candi etc. On the basis of a number of extant temples of various sects of Hinduism in this kṣetra, Surya Nārāyana Das aptly remarks that the place of Purusottama can be rightly said as the Mandiramāälini kṣetra of India.6 8. Review of Literatures:- 62 Some scholars of Art history have done extensive works on the temple
architecture of Orissa and also done a few works on the temple of Lord
Jagannatha at Puri. A few scholars have also undertaken some works on the
temples of kṣetra, but they have not extensively dealt with this kṣetra in their
scholarly works. Also most of the scholars have not given their proper attentions
to the temples of the whole kṣetra. The different works of scholars, antiquarians,
historians as well as archaeologists are Books, Magazines, Journals, Reviews,
Antiquities, Records, Reports, Gazetteers, Proceedings, etc. The titles of works
and their authors are being mentioned below:-
The most important scholarly works and their authors are "Orissa and
Her Remains; (Ancient and Medieval) by M.M.Ganguly, Side Lights on History
and Culture of Orissa, Edited by M.N.Dash, Orissa District Gazetteer; Puri, Edited
by N.Senapati and D.C. Kuanr, Puri, A. Gazetteer by L.S.S.O' Malley Temples of
Orissa by K.S.Behera, Canons of Orissan Architecture by N.K.Bose, History of
Orissa by R.D.Banerjee, Studies in Orissan History, Archaeology and Achieves by
P. Acharya, Early Stone Temples of Orissa by Vidya Dehejia, Hindu Temple Art
of Orissa by T.E.Donaldson, History of Indian and Eastern Architecture by James
Ferguson, Temples of Orissa By D.R.Das, The Antiquities of Orissa, Vol-I & II by
R.L.Mitra Archaeology in Orissa (Sites and Monuments) by R.P.Mohapatra,
'Decorative Motives of Orissan Temples' by K.C.Panigrahi in Side Lights on
History and Culture of Orissa, Edited by M.N.Das, Śrī Jagannatha Temple At A
Glance by G.C.Tripathy, The Cult of Jagannatha and the Regional Tradition of
Orissa,Edited by A.Eschmann, H.Kulke and G.C. Tripathy, Temples of
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