JayJagabalia

Marda Jagannath temple looks wan on Rath Yatra eve

The Jagannath temple at Marda, 70 km from Berhampur, wore a deserted look on the eve of Rath Yatra. Better known as Sharana Srikhetra, the 300-year-old shrine was built to hide the sibling deities from invaders.

According to historians, the three idols of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra from Puri were housed in Sharana Srikhetra from 1733 to 1735 AD, when invaders targeted temples in Kalinga (modern day Odisha). The then King of Puri, Gajapati Ramchandra Dev, was in no position to repulse the invasion. Therefore plans were made to take away the deities to a secluded place in the state. The then Athagarh King, Jagannath Harichandan Jagdev, came to the Gajapati's help">