Kshetrapala of Srikshetra and his temple at Sri Mandir

Kshetrapala is a guardian deity in Jainism, Buddhism and Hinduism. According to Hinduism and Hindu mythology, Kshetrapala, that is, the lord of the farmland is a deity who was originally a deity of the farmland. Over a period of time, Kshetrapala became a generic name applied to deities associated with a piece or parcel of land, or a particular region (kshetra in Sanskrit). His temples are generally constructed on the north-eastern corner of temples.

It is believed that at each kshetra, Kshetrapala (the deity that protects the land from different calamities) is worshiped. In accordance with epics, Vishnu is the Kshetrapala at the land of Shiva. Accordingly Shiva is the Kshetrapala at the land of Vishnu. There are Kshetrapala temples with the idol established in the Aishana Kona (corner of East and North) in each city and village. The face of Kshetrapala is towards western direction.

Srikshetra (Puri Dham) is regarded as Vishnu Kshetra. The Kshetrapala of Srikshetra is Lord Shiva or Bhairava. His name is Kama, as the name suggests he is most beautiful and handsome. Most of the time the gate of Kshetrapala remains closed. The Kshetrapala temple is situated at the back side of Mukti Mandap.

There is a detail description on Kshetrapala in the book namely “Element of Hindu Iconography” written by T.A. Gopinath Rao. He has described about Kshetrapala of different Kshetras. Regarding Kshetrapala of Srikshetra (Puri) he narrated that, the Kshetrapala is very handsome alike Srikshetra. This Kshetrapala is very attractive in both name and action.