Puri is not part of the Saptha Puris or the seven cities that bestow Moksha. The seven Puris are Ayodhya, Mathura, Haridwar, Dwarka, Varanasi, Kanchi and Ujjain. Puri, however, is an ancient city. That is why the generic name for a city, “Pur,” is used for Puri. It is referenced in Mahabharata. There are also claims that Puri is referenced in Rig Veda, but it is disputed. There are several puranic references to Puri from the 7th century AD onwards.

Puri is one of the four Dhams which also include Badrinath, Dwaraka and Rameswaram. Each of the Dhams represent a Yuga and Puri is believed to represent Kali Yuga. Adi Shankara established a matha in each of the four Dhams.

Puri is also a Shakti Peetha. The temple for Goddess Vimala is within the Puri Jagannath temple. It is believed to be part of Tantric history of the temple. Goat sacrifice is done for the Vimala deity during Durga Puja, even though the temple is a strict Vaishnavite temple.

Puri is also a Shaiva Kshetra, though it is not a Jyotirlinga. The temple of Loknath is about two kms away from Jagannath temple and is very famous. The Shiva Linga of Loknath is perpetually under water. The water is drained once in a year on the day of Shivaratri for devotees to have darshan.
The picture is of Puri Jagannath temple by William Henry Cornish around 1868

J.H. Dave, Immortal India, 1957

The temple complex is approximately 665 ft by 640 ft and is immense. It has two sets of walls. It contains approximately 120 temples for various deities. Contrary to popular belief, there are four deities in the Garbhagriha and not three. Sudarshana, in the form of a cylindrical staff is the fourth deity and is considered formless. There are temples for several other deities, including Lakshmi, Vimala, Narasimha, Pataleshwara, Surya Narayana, Satya Narayana and Bhubaneswari. The picture is aerial view of Puri temple complex by Jagannath Dham, Facebook

Mano Mohan Ganguly. Orissa and her remains. Ancient and Mediaeval. 1912

Jagannath Temple was a popular pilgrimage and received grants from several kings. Therefore, both the desire to desecrate and loot attracted several invaders. There are records of 18 invasions. Madala Panji is a chronicle maintained in the temple since the early 11th century. It is a valuable source of information on the history of the temple. It mentions Raktavahu, Rashtrakuta king as the first invader of Puri. The deities were carried away to Gopali and were returned after a gap of 146 years. Raids by Sultans of Bengal started from the 14th century. Feroz Shah Tughluq is believed to have attacked Puri in 1360 AD. The most destructive attack was carried out by Afghan invader Kalapahad. He was the general of Sultan Karani of Bengal. He destroyed Puri, looted the temple, set fire to the deities and threw the half burnt deities into the sea. Hindu jagirdars (e.g Kesodasmaru, Kalyan Malla, son of Todar Mall) serving under Muslims subedars also looted the Puri temple, both for its riches and to impress their subedars.

During all the invasions the people of Puri hid the deities at various places including Chilka. Devotees believe that the Brahma of the deities were always intact and were passed on to new deities. Unlike Ayodhya, Mathura or Kashi, the temple was not destroyed. Both the temple site and structure were preserved, though the sculptures suffered damage. The destruction at Puri stopped after Marathas conquered the region.
The picture is an AI representation of Raja Man Singh at Puri after defeating Afghans, created by Engineer Who, Twitter.

Abhimanyu Dash, Orissa Review

In front of the eastern gateway of the Jagannath temple there is a beautiful chlorite pillar about 25 feet height, made of a single stone. The pillar is on an exquisite pedestal. There is a moorthy of Aruna (charioteer of Surya) on top of the pillar. The pillar was originally in the Konark temple. It was brought to Puri by the Maratha Guru Baba Brahmachari in the 18th century. The Maratha rule over Orissa provided a lot of relief to Puri. They reduced the pilgrim tax which was levied by Bengal sultans. They provided an estate, called Satais Hazari Mahal, yielding an annual rent of approximately Rs 27,000 for the temple. The picture is an 1877 painting of Puri temple with Arun Sthamba by LOUIS ROUSSELET.

Chintamoni Acharyya, Puri.

Just before the inner courtyard entrance, on the northern side, there is a market called Anandabazar. The Mahaprasada of Jagannath consisting of rice, dal, sabji and various sweets are sold in Anandbazar. After taking darshan, the devotees return through Anandbazar to purchase Mahaprasad.

Lakshmi is believed to supervise the preparation of Mahaprasad in the temple kitchens. It is first offered to the deities and then it is offered to Vimala Devi whose temple is within the complex. Only after the prasad is offered to Vimala Devi, it is believed to become Mahaprasad. Picture of Puri temple from Facebook – Jagannath Dham.

Chintamoni Acharyya, Puri.

The deities are recovering from the elaborate Snan given to them. 15/16 days prior to the Rath Yatra, the Snana Yatra takes place. The deities are bathed with 108 pitchers of water drawn from the temple well. This year the Snana Yatra took place on 11th June. Thereafter the deities are believed to fall ill due to the cold water. They are kept in an enclosure within the temple. The deities are rejuvenated with the application of oil and gum. They are also repainted during this period. No darshan is possible during these 15 days. After the deities are rejuvenated, on the day before the Rath Yatra, Netrotsav or the opening of the eyes of the deities is carried out. After Netrotsav, the deities are ready to offer Darshan to the pilgrims. During the period of Anabasar, patachitra paintings of the deities are worshipped within the temple. The picture is Sand Art by Sudarsan Patnaik of the Snan of deities.

K.C. Mishra, The Cult of Jagannatha, 1971

Nabakalebra is the ritual of creating new deities. The deities of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra, along with that of Sudarshan are made of neem wood. Therefore, they are remade periodically. This ritual is known as Nabakalebra. It is carried out in the year when there are two full moons in the Ashada month. It may happen once between every 8 or 19 years and is not a fixed duration. The last Nabakalebra was done in the year 2015.

A tree is identified after careful search and it should meet several conditions. After that in a careful procedure away from public eyes, the deities are carved. The Brahma is extracted from the old deities and transferred to the new deities. This is carried out by priests who are blindfolded as the Brahma cannot be seen. The new deities are painted and brought out for Rath Yatra. The old deities are then buried. The picture is Sand Art by Sudarsan Patnaik representing Nabakalebra.

K.C. Mishra, The Cult of Jagannatha, 1971

New Raths are made every year. The construction of the Raths starts on the day of Akshaya Tritiya. Each Ratha has a name. The Ratha of Jagannatha is known as Nandighosa, of Balabhadra as Taladhwaja and Subhadra as Darpadalana. After the completion of Rath Yatra, the wheels are auctioned off and are bought by many hotels for display. The remaining wood is used in the kitchen for preparation of Bhog. The picture is Sand Art by Sudarsan Patnaik representing the start of chariot making on Akshaya Tritiya.

Surya Sarathi Roy, Sangam Talks Lecture

The deities return near the temple premises on the ninth day from the start of the Rath Yatra. The onward yatra is called Gundhicha Yatra and the return journey is called Bahuda Yatra. After they return the deities do not immediately enter the temple premises. The chariots of Balabhadra and Subhadra are parked near the Singhadwara. The chariot of Jagannatha is parked near Shreenahara where he meets Lakshmi. The deities are adorned with gold ornaments (Suna Besha) the next day; and are offered Adhara Pana the day after. On the 12th day starting from the Rath Yatra day, the deities are carried to the Ratnavedi or the jeweled platform within the temple. The picture is of Rath Yatra by Odisha Tourism.

Ratha Yatra

Gundecha (or Gundicha) was the Queen of Indradyumna who is believed to have built the temple on command of Vasudeva. Rani Gundecha played a special role in the story of the deities of Puri. Indradyumna, on the instruction of Lord Vasudeva, spotted a Dharu (wooden log) in the ocean of Puri. The deities were to be carved from this Dharu but no carpenter was able to do it. Vishwakarma offered to carve the deities provided he was left undisturbed for 21 days. On the 15th day, Rani Gundecha grew restless as there was no sound coming from the room where the carving was taking place. At her insistence, Indradyumna broke open the room. As the promise was broken, Vishwakarma vanished leaving behind deities which were not fully formed. They had no legs, no ears and the arms were only stumps. Vasudeva appeared before Indradyumna and assured him that this is the form in which he wished to be worshipped.

Indradyumna built the Gundecha temple where the deities would stay for a full week. This gave the opportunity for the queen to have darshan of the deities.

The Gundecha temple is approximately three kms away from the Jagannath temple. During the rest of the year the Gundecha temple remains empty. The picture is Sand Art by Sudarsan Patnaik representing the Rathas in front of Gundecha temple.

Chintamoni Acharyya, Puri.

In the olden days, a river separated the Jagannath temple from the Gundeecha temple. Therefore two sets of chariots were made, one for each side. The deities would be carried across the river in boats. The Rath Yatra was also not completed in a day and it was over 2 or 3 days. Nowadays, the Yatra is completed within few hours.

Surya Sarathi Roy, Sangam Talks Lecture

The Raja of Puri and the descendant of the builder of the Jagannatha temple sweeps the floor of each of the chariots. The Raja arrives in a palanquin from his palace. He offers arti to the deities and then sweeps the floor of the chariots with a golden broom.

This ritual is also connected to the story of King Purusottama of Puri. The King of Kanchi from South India observed Purusottama sweeping the chariots. He returned without paying respects to Purusottama as he considered sweeping as a low job. An angry Purusottama invaded Kanchi but was defeated. But with the divine help of Jagannatha and Balabhadra he defeated the King of Kanchi and brought his daughter Padmavati as a captive. He ordered his minister to marry off Padmavati to a sweeper, as a means of avenging the insult. The clever minister understood the love Purusottama had for Padmavati. He waited until the Rath Yatra when Purusottama will perform Chera Panhara. During the ritual the minister proclaimed that Purusottama, as a sweeper on that day, is the best groom for Padmavati! The Picture is a Pattachitra painting of Kanchi invasion by King Purusottama.

K.C. Mishra, The Cult of Jagannatha, 1971. Chandamama