Brief About Puri District
Puri being a coastal district of Orissa , is famous
for its Historic antiquities ,Religious sanctuaries , Architectural
Grandeur , Sea-scape beauty,moderate climate.It holds a wealth
of attraction for the visitors. It boasts of a continuous history
from the 3rd Century B.C. to the present day and its unique monuments
like those of Lord Jagannath at Puri , the Sun God at Konark are
the famous in the world. It has the Chilika lake , one of the
largest brackish water lakes in India, that holds a picturesque
Sea-Scape beauty. It offers an ideal resort for birds who
migrate from different parts of the continent . By virtue of Geographical
location , the climate of Puri is equable through out the year.
Puri the abode of Vishnu as Jagannath which contributed
the word " Juggernaut" to the English language, represents
its integrated individuality as its cultural heritage , a unique
blend of claims of time and eternity with a power answerable only
to wisdom . Puri's compendious heritage has been representing
that spark of immortality that the Oriyas and the Indians have
own against the powers of negation , through a spirit of university
, adaptability , and an astute mixture of the present which no
other culture can aspire to explain as its self justification.
The name of the Lord as Purusottama (perfection personified) or
as Jagannath (Lord of Universe) represents a universality in true
with the familiar faternity of mankind (Vasudheiva Kutumbakam).
Adi Shankaracharya visited Puri , set up the Gobardhan matha (monastery)
as the exception from his other three mathas as a vaishnavite,
defined Jagannath as the Supreme one. It is thus not only one
of the four Dhams (Holy Places) for Hindus but the most
pious and sacred place.
Various sectarian head visited Puri on piligrimage
, setup his own monastery for continued serve to Lord Jagannath
and returned .
Spiritually mollified - The list includes Kabir and the "Torani'
of Kabirchaura nayak the founder of Shikhism , visited Puri and
gained entrance into the temple by performing a miraculous feat
of showing the trinity reflected on his palms . He setup the bauli
and Mangi mathas which still attract the Shikhs from the worldover
. Sankar Deva of Assam had followed the same path . Other religious
heads and dignifiers like Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Rai Ramananda
, Jayadeva, Gorakhanath, the father of Nath, cult of religious
icoloclasm supposed by visited Puri. Saint Totapuri
a vedant teacher of Ramakrishna has also visited puri.
Bhakti Krishnatirtha and Muquaddam Jahanies visited Puri . The
latters synthesized "Pir" concept at konark bears testimony .
Sridhar Swami , SadhuSundar Das and the devote ma
visited Puri for fulfilment of their spiritual Craze.
The Quintessential characteristic of its culture and philosophy
has made it from Pan-Indian to Pan-Continental. The Car-Festicval
of Shri Lord Jagannath now not limited to Puri or Orissa rather
it is celebrated in global scale , the reverberation echos of
which are heard from Los Angeles to Piccadily from Heidelberg
to Tokyo.
The Jagannath culture is not only pre-dominated in Puri but it
is global. Its Universal affirmation is secular defusion of such
an attitude is futuristic. It calls for unity in diversity
is an age of diverse perversity. The consecration of all the empire
by Gajapati of Puri .Kapilendra Deva to Lord Jagannath , the lord
emerging as "istadeva " and "Rastradevata" and rolled down the
centuries as the crest of nationalism which found Madhusudan Das
(the eminent barister of British era )in 1928 to cryout 'serve
us, Lord Jagannath'. The dazzle of Kohi-noor, originally gifted
to Lord Jagannath , the Hum of devotional "Janana"(non-bhajan),
the cries of Chandan Hajuri (the chief warier of Maharani
Laxmibai) and 'the Mahaprasad brotherhood' have been unifying
forces and symbols of national unity .
The evolution of Odissi Dance and music out of the Devadasi-institution
still enchants all with its mystic rhythm. The Orissan school
of architecture emerging from here is a poetry frozen in stone.
The Patta-paintings and applique work are a craze in the west
,particularly in U.S.A. of today . The Shell-craft of Puri have
a major appeal.
It is thus here at puri that the pattern of a Pan-Indian ,(nay,
global) culture of tomorrow is on the anvil . People are individual atoms
ever contributing their properties to the "matter" of Jagannath
Dharma without conciousness of mutual distinctions . Puri belongs
to humanity , the seat of an eternal education , the
bridge that gulfs the past and the future and the blending of
diverse impulses for a single embodiment in the march of all fulfilling
time .
Temples and sanctuaries , beaches and glorious
lakes, colorful ,vibrant and the numerous festivals for every
reason and for every season that can take on a"Jagannath-like
momentum" .
Puri has then all and much more for all.
Excellently connected by air, rail,and road , Puri invites you
to its hospitable environs and promises you an experience you
will never forget .When others talk of taking you down memory
lane .
Puri will take you back to your ancient linkages . When others
talk of romancing with the stones, her ancient architects
and sculptors will show you what it really means ,
HISTORY
PRE-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 THE 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.
HISTORY OF THE DISTRICT AS AN ADMINISTRATIVE
UNIT
Under Mughal Rule (1592-1751) ,Orissa for the purpose of revenue
administration was divided into three circars , namely Jaleswar,
Bhadrak and kataka each of which Under Mughal was subdivided into
Bishis. Puri formed a part of kataka circar. After their
occupation of Orissa in 1751 , the Marathas brought about some
changes in the revenue divisions of the province . they divided
Orissa , which then extended from the river Suvarnarekha
in the North to the lake Chilika in the South , into five Chakalas
viz. (I) Pipli , (II) Kataka (III)Soro , (IV) Balasore.
The Chakala of Pipli comprised major portions of the modern district
of Puri . The Chakalas were divided into parganas into Mahals
or Taluqs. The conquest of Orissa by the British in 1803 set fourth
great changes in revenue divisions and political relations
. In June 1804, the province was divided into two divisions ,
namely the Northern and Southern Divisions , the river Mahanadi
forming the boundary . Robert Ker and Charles Groeme
were appointed as Judge , Magistrate and collector in Northern
and Southern Divisions respectively . By 1805 both divisions were
amalgamated and G.Webb succeeded Groene as collector
and Robert Ker became the Judge and Magistrate of the whole province.
As the Raja of Khurdha revolted the 1804, he was arrested and
was placed in confinement in the Fort of Barabati at Cuttack.
His teritory was confiscated and the Raja was subsequently released.
In 1807 he was permitted to live at Balisahi in the town of Puri
and functioned
as superintendent of the temple of Jagannath. Puri was the capital
of the province of Orissa and the headquarters of the collector
,till 1816. In 1806 there was a proposal to
remove the head quarters to Jajpur , but it didn't get Government
sanction . In August 1814, a part of the collectors establishment
was removed to Cuttack , which was again brought back to
Puri in December . By 1916 the Head quarter was permanently shifted
to Cuttack which was Head quarter during Moghal and Marathas .
By 1818 the office of the commissioner was established
and Robert Ker became the first commissioner . From 1813 to 1819
there was a joint Magistrate at Puri with the jurisdiction
over the Thana of Pipli , Gop , Hariharpur and Kiran . By 1819 this
office was abolished and the joint magistrate of Khurdha was given
the charge of the above thanas . On 11th February 1822, the office
of the joint magistrate of Khurdha was abolished and Orissa
was again divided into two divisions with the river Baitarani
as the dividing line . Willkinson , the collector of Cuttack ,
was placed in charge of Cuttack and Khurdha and Ricketts with
powers of a collector was given the charge of Balasore and
Bhadrak .
Finally on 23rd October 1828, the province was divided into three
districts , namely Balaore , Cuttack and Jagannath, later known
as Puri. Regulation IV of 1821 had provided that the power
of a magistrate and collector might be vested in one and the same
person and accordingly are magistrate and collector was
appointed in each of the above three districts . H. Ricketts ,
R. Hunter and W. Willkinson were the first magistrate and
collectors of Balasore , Cuttack and puri districts respectively.
In 1912 the new province of Bihar and Orissa was formed and subsequently
Orissa a become a separate province in 1936 . After intergration
with Orissa an 1st January 1948 of the feudatry states of Nayagarh
, Daspalla, Khandapara and Ranapur with a total area of
3941 1st km. a separate Sub-Division comprising these ex-states
was adede to Puri District with headquarters at Nayagarh. The
fourth Sub-Division of Bhubaneswar was carred at an 26th
January 1959 . The old Puri District consisted of four Sub-Division
i.e Puri Sadar, Khurdha, Bhubaneswar and Nayagarh , Puri
Sadar Sub-Division consists of four Tahasils i.e 1) Krushna Prasad
2)Sadar 3) Pipili, 4) Nimapara
Again by the year 1995 the Puri District was devided into 3 District
i.e
i) Nayagarh District comprises of Nayagarh Sub-Division.
ii) Khurdha District Comprises of Khuradha and Bhubaneswar Sub-Division
and
iii) Puri District Comprises of Puri Sadar Sub-Division only.
TOPOGRAPHY
The whole of the district may be divided into two dissimilar
natural divisions
i) 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
ii)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
2) Daya
3) Bhargabi
4) Kadua
5)Prachi
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
Tanks
