The Antiquities of Orissa v2.c17.s1.372

v2.c17.s1.372

10. *Lokanātha.* The western boundary of the town of Puri is marked by the temple of Lokanātha, which is said to have been established by the hero of the *Rāmāyaṇa* in the second epoch of the earth's history. There is nothing, however, in it to indicate this remote antiquity. It is situated at a distance of about two miles from the Great Temple. The place is well-wooded by a number of mango trees and in the midst of the tope there is a masonry terrace lined by huts on two sides, and by a range of small temples on the third, the fourth side being enclosed by a low wall with a gate in the middle. The huts belong to a body of Sannyāsis who look upon this place as their *maṭh*. The largest temple of the group—a plain building of brick and plaster—is occupied by Hara and Pārvatī, and by its side stands the fane of Lokanātha—a temple about 30 feet high, having a door on one side and a window on the opposite side. The doors are usually kept locked and the window is provided with an iron grating through which the pilgrim peeps into the interior, where dwells the Lord of Regions. The divinity, however, is not visible to the multitude, except once in the year. In the middle of the sanctuary there is a small square vat, fed by a natural fountain and full of water, and in it the divinity remains drowned. The vat is connected by an open tunnel with a tank in its close vicinity, and to it the water of the fountain flows in a tiny streamlet all day and night. On the night of Śivarātrī, the 14th of the wane in the month of Māgha, all the water is bailed out and the divinity—an amorphous mass of stone—becomes visible. This is looked upon as a miracle and is the cause of the great sanctity of the place. The place is largely visited and for the entertainment of pilgrims the priests celebrate a great number of festivals, in some of which Pārvatī and her consort are carried about in a four-wheeled chariot drawn by bullocks.