Day 4 - Wednesday, 14 Dec 2022

This was the message Sakshi had sent the previous night.

Hi Everyone,

Tomorrow we shall visit the abode of Lord Jagannath and Poetry in Stone – Konark Sun Temple.

Here is plan for tomorrow (14 Dec) with 50+ Voyagers Travel and Adventure Club.

6:00 AM - Assemble in hotel reception area and we will leave for Jagannath temple. We will take Auto from Hotel to the temple.

9:30 AM – Enjoy your breakfast.

Approx 12:45 – 1:30 PM: Lunch at Hotel (Jamindars Palace)

1:45 PM : Leave for Konark temple.

3:00-6:00 PM – Visit Konark temple and leave for Chandrabhaga beach.Enjoy the sunset at the beach.

7:00 PM : Return to Hotel .

8:00 PM onwards : Dinner at Hotel.

9:00 PM : Good Night and Sweet Dreams.

Meals Included: - Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

* Time and schedule of above plan is just for reference. Sightseeing order and exact timing may change due to road and weather condition and rush.
* Please note below points to go Shri Jaggannath Temple
•   Do not carry any leather items/camera/big bag/mobile to Jaganath temple.
•   You can safely keep Leather belt/ Leather Purse/ mobile/ shoe/ Camera etc near the temple at shoe stand.
•   Please note non-Hindus are not allowed inside Jaganath temple.
•   Jaganath Temple will be crowded, so it will be difficult to keep track of people. Please return to assembly point on time. Otherwise, it may be difficult to contact/wait for you long time.
•   It will be crowded so keep your valuable belonging at own risk.
•   Please carry hotel business card from reception. If you get late or do not locate the group or me, you can always come back by your own to the hotel.
•   Be aware of Monkeys

Lord Jagannath Temple & Konark Temple are probably Odisha's most famous landmarks and we covered both these temples today.

Our day began by visit to the Jagannath temple. All group members got up early, assembled in the hotel lobby by 6 AM & left for the temple in groups of 5 or 6 in auto rickshas. The idea was to complete the darshan as early as possible. The dress code was Indian traditional. Most men wore dhotis.

The Jagannath temple is one of the char dhams pilgrimage site. Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra are the dieties who are worshipped in this temple. Puri Jagannath kshetra is a rare instance where the main God Jagannath is seen with his siblings -brother Balarama and sister Subhadra. The God's statue is made of neem wood. There are several stories linked to this temple. The flag atop the temple flying in the opposite direction to the wind, Hanuman guarding the four entrances of the temple, cooking of prasad in seven mud pots stacked one over the other with the contents of the top vessel being cooked first, etc.

There are numerous smaller temples and shrines within the Temple complex where active worship is regularly conducted. The Bimala Temple is considered one of the most important of the Shaktipeeths. The other temples are Mahalakshmi temple, Kanchi Ganesh Temple, Muktimandap, Surya, Saraswati, Bhuvaneshwari, Narasimha, Rama, Hanuman and Eshaneshwara. Many important temples have a special VIP darshan on payment of some fees, but as informed to us Jagannath kshetra has no concept of special or VIP darshan.

We had a senior retired Government officer who acted as a guide and took us around the temple, including darshan, helping with prasad, etc. Mobiles are not allowed inside the temple. Thanks to our guide, all of us had a good darshan & returned to our hotel Jamindar Palace by 915 AM for breakfast.

After breakfast some of the members opted to visit the Puri Govardhan Shankar Matt. We hired a couple of autorickshas & went to the matt. This is believed to be one of the peethams established by Sri Adi Shankaracharya. We had darshan of Jagannath, Devi, Govardhannath and Ardanareeshwara. We saw a rudraksha tree in the temple.

Group foto in front of the Shankar Matt

Rudraksh tree

A well that is 2500 years old

After having lunch in the hotel we left for Konark temple. Rabindranath Tagore, referred Konark as Poetry in Stone and wrote: 'here the language of stone surpasses the language of man.' Our guide for the Konark temple was Upendranath Nayak. The name of Konark temple is an amalgamation of two words- Kona meaning corner and Arka meaning the Sun, together which means 'Sun of the Corner'. Konark Sun Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is situated on the north-eastern corner of Puri and is dedicated to Sun God. Konark is designated as UNESCO World heritage site.

Built in 13th century by King Narasimhadeva, the temple is designed in the shape of a colossal chariot with seven horses and twelve wheels, carrying the sun god, Surya, across heavens. Around the base of the temple there are images of animals, foliage, warriors on horses and other interesting structures. On the walls and roof of the temple beautiful erotic figures are carved. Sun temple of Konark is a masterpiece of Odisha's medieval architecture.

The terraces contain stone statues of male and female musicians holding various musical instruments. Other major works of art include sculptures of Hindu deities. The layer at the bottom of the platform contains elephants, marching soldiers, musicians, and several images depicting the secular life of the people. The Konark temple is also known for its erotic sculptures. These show couples in various stages of courtship and intimacy. When talking about these sculptures, at one point, I felt our guide got carried away a bit & started explaining in detail much to the amusement of most and embarrassment of a few of the group members!

The sheer size of the temple & the marvelous architecture gives one plenty of opportunity for photography.

Group foto just before sunset Konark