10 Best Places to Visit in Puri ,Odisha

Dear Friends Today i Discuss About a Beautiful and a Holy place which is known as....It is one of the original Char Dham pilgrimage sites for Hindus.   PURI  is known by several names since the ancient times, and was locally known as "Shrikhetra" and Lord Jagannath temple is known as "Badadeula" yes this is our holi place puri the JAGANATH DHAM.

The place where each one of the four Mathas has been established by Sankara is known by the celebrated name of dhama which literally means, a sacred place. Puri is the dhama of eastern India. It is the traditional belief that a Hindu should visit these four dhamas at least once in his life and the prevailing practice is that, after visiting the other three dhamas, one must visit Puri dhama. The records maintained by the Pandas in the Puri temple contain reliable materials to show that for centuries past, people from the whole of India have been visiting Puri in course of their pilgrimage.

Puri is synonymous to Jagannath and vice versa, and this temple needs to introduction. This temple being one of the ‘Char Dham’ pilgrimages, that Hindus are expected to visit in a lifetime sees a lot of devotees around the year

Puri is a city of  the state of ODISHA in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri districtand is situated on the Bay of Bengal, 60 kilometres south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is also known as Sri Jagannath Dham after the 12th-century Jagannath Temple located in the city. It is one of the original Char Dham pilgrimage sites for Hindus.

Puri is known by several names since the ancient times, and was locally known as "Shrikhetra" and Lord Jagannath temple is known as "Badadeula". Puri and the Jagannath Temple were invaded 18 times by Hindu and Muslim rulers, from the 4th century AD till the early 19th century with the objective of looting the treasures of the temple. Odisha, including Puri and its temple, were under the British Raj from 1803 till India attained independence in August 1947. Even though princely states do not exist in India today the heirs of the Gajapati Dynasty of Khurda still perform the ritual duties of the temple. The temple town has many Hindu religious mathsor monasteries.

then friends lets go to know about 10 intresting tourist places in PURI district

1. JAGANATH TEMPLE ::  The Puri temple is built on a gigantic raised platform in the heart of the city, The temple complex is enclosed by a wall about seven meters high -including the 0 height of the platform. The area of this platform is more than 4,20,000 sq.ft. The wall is pierced by four gates ,facing the four directions. On the east-facing gate, there are stone images of two lions and it is called the Lions Gate. The north, south and west facing gates are similarly known as the Elephant Gate, the Horse Gate and the Tiger Gate (also called the Khanja Gate) respectively. The north gate is mainly meant for the God himself in as much as, the logs of wood out of which, the images are fabricated, make their entry into the temple premises through this gate, when the Navakelevara ceremony takes place. The east-facing Lions Gate is the main gate. There are pyramidal structures over the four gates, which are not very old.

As we arrive at the vast open area in front of the Lions Gate (eastern gate), we see a monolithic pillar about 10 meters high. This pillar is known locally as the Aruna Stambha. In Hindu mythology Aruna is the the charioteer of the Sun-god, The world famous Konarka temple was designed in the form of a stupendous chariot and this monolithic pillar with the beautifully carved Aruna seated on its top was installed right in front of the porch of that temple. When the temple was abandoned and there was no presiding deity in it, this pillar was removed from Konarka to Puri and was fixed in front of Jagannatha temple where we see it now.

2. PURI SEA BEACH :: Puri Beach is a beach in the city of Puri in the state of Odisha, India. It is on the shore of the Bay of Bengal. It is known for being a tourist attraction and a Hindu sacred place.The beach is the site of the annual Puri Beach Festival, which is co-sponsored by the Indian Ministry of Tourism, the city of Odisha, the Development Commissioner of Handicrafts, and the Eastern Zonal Cultural Center, Kolkata.The beach hosts sand art displays, including work by international award-winning local sand artist Sudarshan Pattnaik

Puri Beach is located at the city of Puri and the distance between Puri railway station and the beach is only 2 km. Nearest airport is located at Bhubaneswar which is 60 km away. Buses and Taxis are available for local transportation.

3.SWARGA DWARA :: swargadwar is the creamation ground of hindus.swarga means heaven and dwara means gateway. so swargadwara is consider as the gateway of heaven.generally hindus to end their life in this holy place of puri  to get accessibility to heaven for libreating their soul and ultimately salvation .swargadwara is in the sandy beach  towards the south corner of the town.

4. KONARK TEMPLE  SUN TEMPLE :: Konark Sun Temple is a 13th-century CE Sun Temple at Konark in Odisha, India. It is believed that the temple was built by king Narasimhadeva I of Eastern Ganga Dynasty in 1255 CE. The temple complex is in the shape of a gigantic chariot, having elaborately carved stone wheels, pillars and walls. A major part of the structure is now in ruins. The temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has also featured on various list of Seven Wonders of India.

The name Konark derives from the combination of the Sanskrit words, Kona (corner or angle) and Ark (the sun), in reference to the temple which was dedicated to the Sun God Surya.

The monument was also called the Black Pagoda'(Kaala Pagoda) by the European sailors. In contrast, the Jagannath Temple in Puri was called the White Pagoda. Both temples served as important landmarks for the sailors. Konark Sun Temple used Iron beams for its structure.

5 . CHANDRABHAGA BEACH :: This golden sand beach is absolutely stunning and ideal place to see sunrise. Being 30 kms from Puri city and 3 kms from Konark, this beach is easily accessible which is a cherry on the cake. We reached at 4:30 am in the morning and were surprised to see many visitors reach even before that. Chilly wind, roaring sea, sunrise and numerous boats of fisherman sailing into the sea with the first ray of sunlight is a picturesque sight. Wear comfortable shoes and enjoy delicious coconut water at the beach. Advisable to carry light stoles as it might be cold in the morning.

6.BALI HARACHANDI TEMPLE :: Baliharachandi is one of the famous tourist place in Odisha. This place is about 27kms from the famous place Puri. At this place the river from Atharnala (which is the Branch of river Bhargavi) entered into the sea near Harachandi temple. So Harachandi temple is mainly famous for this. So this place become into one of the best Picnic spot in Odisha. Every year thousands of tourists and students come to this place for picnic and enjoy the nature’s beauty of this place. Because this is the best place for nature lovers. As the Harachandi Temple is here, so this temple increases one more attraction for this place.

7. KARAMALA ASHRAM :: Paramahamsa (परमाहंस), also spelled paramahansa or paramhansa, is a Sanskrit religio-theological title of honor applied to Hindu spiritual teachers who are regarded as having attained enlightenment. The title literally means "supreme swan," and symbolizes spiritual discrimination. The swan is equally at home on land and on water; similarly, the true sage is equally at home in the realms of matter and of spirit. To be in divine ecstasy and simultaneously to be actively wakeful is the paramahansa state; the 'royal swan' of the soul floats in the cosmic ocean, beholding both its body and the ocean as manifestations of the same Spirit. The word 'Paramahamsa' signifies one who is Awakened in all realms.  Paramahansa is the highest level of spiritual development in which a union with ultimate reality has been attained by a sannyasi

Orissa is fortunate to have given birth to one such divine person – Sri Abhiram Paramahansa Deva who is lovingly called Thakur. Just at the advent of the century, i.e. on the 18th January 1904, he was born to the parents Sri Satyabadi Pattanaik and Srimati Radha Devi in a remote corner of Puri district, in the village Karmala situated on the bank of river luna. It is said that on the 19th of that month, i.e a day after the birth of the healthy and handsome baby, one ascetic became the guest of the parents for the night and instructed that host to christen the new – born baby as “Abhiram” the name which was not in accordance with other tow elder brothers, lokanath and Somanath. The monk, during his stay, expressed a few words which indicate that the baby was born being enriched with extraordinary power. He then left that place before the dawn. Satyabadi, while preparing the horoscope of the baby could know that it was of a great man. Like all mothers, Radha Devi called the child as Binori, a name coined by herself Sri Arjuna Pattanaik and Srimati Subrata Devi, a childless couple of that village were glad to adopt the baby with due consent of the parents and to take up the responsibility of bringing him up. But these foster parents could not remain for a long period to claim their parental right upon the adopted child as they passed away after a few years. So the child had to return to his birth place again. This was the fact that Sri Thakur used to cite that none of this kith and kin survives.

8. CHILIKA LAKE :: Chilika lake is a brackish water lagoon, spread over the Puri, Khurda and Ganjam districts of Odisha state on the east coast of India, at the mouth of the Daya River, flowing into the Bay of Bengal, covering an area of over 1,100 km². It is the largest coastal lagoon in India and the second largest coastal lagoon in the world. The New Caledonian barrier reef in New Caledonia.

It is the largest wintering ground for migratory birds on the Indian sub-continent. The lake is home to a number of threatened species of plants and animals.

The lake is an ecosystem with large fishery resources. It sustains more than 150,000 fisher–folk living in 132 villages on the shore and islands.

The lagoon hosts over 160 species of birds in the peak migratory season. Birds from as far as the Caspian Sea, Lake Baikal, Aral Seaand other remote parts of Russia, Kirghiz steppes of Mongolia, Central and southeast Asia, Ladakh and Himalayas come here. These birds travel great distances; migratory birds probably follow much longer routes than the straight lines, possibly up to 12,000 km, to reach Chilika Lake.

In 1981, Chilika Lake was designated the first Indian wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention

9. ALARNATHTEMPLE::Alarnatha Temple or Alvarnaath  is a temple dedicated to Vishnu and located in Brahmagiri, Odisha,nearPuri.It becomes crowded during the krishnapaksha of Ashadha,after the Snana Yatra when lord Jagannath cannot be seen in Puri. During this period, popularly known as Anasara or 'Anavasara' (literally meaning no opportunity to see the lord of Puri), instead of having darshan in Jagannath Temple,peoples believe that Lord Jagannath during this time manifests as Alarnath Dev, at the Alarnath temple in Brahmagiri, which is about 23 km from Puri.

10. SIRULI MAHAVIR TEMPLE :: Siruli Mahavir Chandanpur,  Siddha Mahavir of Puri and Panchamukhi Hanuman of Cuttack are the most prominent Hanuman Pithas of Orissa.The original murti of Mahavir Hanuman worshipped in the temple is Swayambhu meaning it appeared on its own. Currently a huge murti made of single stone is worshipped. The murti has been worshipped from ancient times. The current temple which stands in five acres of land was established by Cholaganga Dev during the 6th century AD. Some scholars believe it was established in 12th century AD.

The murti or Idol of Hanuman presently worshiped here is 10 feet tall and faces west. The width of the chest of the murti is enormous. The chest exhibits the famous posture Lord Rama and Sita in Hanuman’s heart. In the right hand he holds Gandhamardana parvata (a huge rock). Left hand holds katuri or short dagger in left 
hand. He wears a garland of jewels (Vaijantimala) in his body. The murti of Hanuman has been designed as trampling over Murasura. Sculpture of Anjana, the mother of Hanuman, is carved to the right of the pedestal. The murti is decorated with heavy earrings and has a jewel studded chain on the neck.

dear friends please read my blog and know about puri and please please comment me .