The Antiquities of Orissa v2.c17.s1.120

v2.c17.s1.120

**Its Name.** The most ancient name of the place was Nīlācala or ‘blue hill’, given to it to ennoble one of the sand ridges in the centre of the town, barely 20 feet high, on which the temple of the divinity now stands. This name, however, is not now in common use. For centuries past, the city has been looked upon as the holiest on the face of the earth, and the most appropriate name for it has been, preeminently and *par excellence*, Puri—‘The City’. In English records and also in some Persian documents, the last name is usually given to both the district and the town, and the latter for distinction often appears under the name of ‘Jagarnaut,’ the name of the presiding divinity being [ **100** ] confounded with that of his dwelling place. This confusion, however, is due to Hindu writers of medieval times who used it in that sense. Similarly they use the word Puruṣottama, ‘the noblest male,’ the name of the divinity, for that of his sacred town. In these two instances we have, however, the results of a spirit of economy or abbreviation, by which ‘Jagannātha-Kṣetra’ and ‘Puruṣottama-Kṣetra’ have been deprived of their last member. By omitting the first member we arrive at the most popular name of the place, Khetra or Kṣetra ‘the sacred place’.