Saturday 2 June 2012

Puri (Oriya: ପୁରୀ ଜିଲ୍ଲା)

It is situated on the Bay of Bengal 60 Kilometers (37 miles) south of the state capital Bhubaneswar in the Indian state of Odisha. It is also known as Jagannath Puri Dham after the 11th century Jagannath Temple located in the city. Puri is a holy city of the Hindus as a part of the Char Dham  pilgrimages. According to Hindu teachings, a pilgrimage of the temples of India is not considered complete without a journey to Puri.Puri is endowed with one of the best beaches for swimming in India and is therefore also a popular beach resort, especially as it is positioned geographically so that both sunset and sunrise can be viewed from the beach.

Puri, the holy land of Lord Jagannath, has many names. It is mentioned in Puranas as Srikshetra, Shankhakshetra, Neelāchala, Neelādri, Purusottama Dhāma, Purusottama Kshetra, Purusottama Puri and Jagannath Puri. The word "Puri" in Sanskrit means 'town', or 'city' and is cognate with polis in Greek. It is possible that Puri is a shortened name for Jagannath Puri or Purusottama Puri. In some records pertaining to the British rule, the word 'Jagannath' was used for Puri.It is the only shrine in India, where Radha, along with Lakshmi, Durga, Sati, Parvati, and Shakti abodes with Krishna, also known as Jagannath. More...

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