Photos

A view from Puri beach.

About Puri
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Puri is a city in the east Indian state of Orissa. The city is famous for its Jagannath temple. The temple was built in the late eleventh century.

Puri is one of the oldest cities in the eastern part of the country. It is situated on the coast of the Bay of Bengal and is a popular beach resort, positioned in a unique place so that both sunset and sunrise can be viewed from the beach.

The word "puri" in the most ancient Sanskrit language stands for 'Town or City' but, in this case, it is derived from Jagannath Puri. Another belief is that the name Puri is derived from Purushottama one of 108 Shakti Peethas, Purushottama.

It is the only shrine in India, where Goddess Radha also referred to as Durga, Sati, Parvati, Shakti abode here with Lord Krishna who is Jagannatha.

Puri is the site of the Govardhana matha, one of the four cardinal institutions established by Adi Shankaracharya, the others being those at Sringeri, Dwaraka and Jyotirmath.

Puri is also famous for its annual Ratha Yatra, or "Festival of Chariots", when the deities Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra, are brought out of the temple, and placed in a chariot procession. This festival occurs on various dates of the Gregorian calendar, typically in the month of July.

The town is famous for its many Mathas (monasteries of the various Hindu sects). It also houses the relics of many Hindu saints as traditionally it is seen as a holy place to die in or to be cremated. As a result, it has had a disproportionate number of widows. Like other old Hindu religious towns it has a lot of character that is difficult to be glimpsed or picked up on easily by a casual visitor.

In 1903, Sri Yukteswar established an ashram in the sea-side town of Puri, naming it "Kararashram". From two ashrams, Sri Yukteswar taught students, and began an organization named "Sadhu Sabha."