The earliest description about Jagannath Temple of Puri can be found in Utkal Khanda of the Skanda Purana. It is mentioned there that King Indradyumna built the temple for Lord jagannath who was carved out of sacred wood at his instance. After that the temple of Sri Jagannath has been renovated and rebuilt several times. According to the printed edition of Madala Panji (Chronicle of the Sri Jagannath Temple of Puri), King Yayati Kesari of Somavamsi dynasty constructed a temple for Lord Jagannath after renovating the idols. As long as 144 years prior to his accession , a Yavana king named Raktabahu had invaded Odisha during the period of Sobhana Deva and to protect the deities the priests had buried the idols somewhere in the Sonepur region. This proves that the temple and worship of Jagannath existed in Puri much earlier than that.
According to historians, the current temple of Jagannath at puri was built by Anantavarman Chodaganga (1078-1147 A.D.). However the Madala Panji attributes the construction of the temple of Jagannath at Puri not to Anantavarman Chodaganga, but to his great-grandson Anangabhima III (1211-1238 A.D.). It is usually believed by the scholars that the Puri Jagannath temple and structures connected with the shrine may have been actually finished during his reign.
A century ago to this day, may be around the time I am writing this piece, a fifty-two year thin Gujurati man entered the holy precincts of the Jagannath Temple in Puri with his wife and son. He was led by a Gujurati Panda and taken on a tour of the temple. (In Puri, the… read more »