BERHAMPUR: The Jagannath temple administration has started exploring the historical links of the deities with other places of the State and outside to revive the ancient sites.
A 12-member team from Puri, led by temple chief administrator Suresh Mohapatra visited Marda in Ganjam district on Wednesday where the deities were hidden for more than two years to escape sacrilege at the hands of Muslim invaders in the 18th century AD.
The name of the then king of Athagadapatna, Jagannath Harichandan, who had built up a rock temple at inaccessible Marda to protect the deities, is still remembered during rituals at Puri temple. From Marda, the team went to Tekkali, which had also sheltered the deities during another invasion. They had earlier visited Subarnapur district to visit the place where deities were hidden during invasion on Puri long ago.
Aid promised
The temple administration promised to provide assistance for daily rituals at the Marda temple, where the large `sinhasan' is still empty as historical evidence after the hidden deities left for Puri in 1736.
It suggested formation of a special committee under the local Additional District Magistrate (ADM) for the maintenance and rituals at this empty temple. To protect the historical structure it also suggested construction of a boundary around it.
A team member and historian Surendra Mishra, who has written a book on invasions on Jagannath temple said: "We would request the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to survey the jungles near Marda temple to locate the `Guptagada' castle of Gajapati king of Puri, Ramchandra Dev, who had also hidden himself near the deities."
According to him the Marda temple built by the artisans of a near-by village Pathara within a few months has resemblance of the Gundicha temple of Puri. Its large `sinhasan' proves that it once housed the large idols of Jagannath, Balabhadra, Subhadra and Sudarshan.
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BERHAMPUR: The Jagannath temple administration has started exploring the historical links of the deities with other places of the State and outside to revive the ancient sites.
A 12-member team from Puri, led by temple chief administrator Suresh Mohapatra visited Marda in Ganjam district on Wednesday where the deities were hidden for more than two years to escape sacrilege at the hands of Muslim invaders in the 18th century AD.
The name of the then king of Athagadapatna, Jagannath Harichandan, who had built up a rock temple at inaccessible Marda to protect the deities, is still remembered during rituals at Puri temple. From Marda, the team went to Tekkali, which had also sheltered the deities during another invasion. They had earlier visited Subarnapur district to visit the place where deities were hidden during invasion on Puri long ago.
Aid promised
The temple administration promised to provide assistance for daily rituals at the Marda temple, where the large `sinhasan' is still empty as historical evidence after the hidden deities left for Puri in 1736.
It suggested formation of a special committee under the local Additional District Magistrate (ADM) for the maintenance and rituals at this empty temple. To protect the historical structure it also suggested construction of a boundary around it.
A team member and historian Surendra Mishra, who has written a book on invasions on Jagannath temple said: "We would request the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to survey the jungles near Marda temple to locate the `Guptagada' castle of Gajapati king of Puri, Ramchandra Dev, who had also hidden himself near the deities."
According to him the Marda temple built by the artisans of a near-by village Pathara within a few months has resemblance of the Gundicha temple of Puri. Its large `sinhasan' proves that it once housed the large idols of Jagannath, Balabhadra, Subhadra and Sudarshan.
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