2. Jagannatha Temple architecture (4): The Enclosures

The temple of Lord Jagannatha stands within two lines of boundary walls built of laterite. These (two) boundary walls form two enclosures; the inner and the outer. The inner enclosure (wall) is known as Kurma Bedha (Pracira), named after a tortoise owing to its shape. Pandit Surya Narayana Das has mentioned that Kurma Bedha of Jagannatha temple was built by King Purusottama Deva. 46 The dimensions of the inner enclosure are 420 feet by 315 feet.47 Within the Kurmabedha (prakara), besides the main temple of Lord Jagannatha, in subsequent period, a number of temples of medium and smaller sizes were also constructed and at present there 95 in number. 48 The outer enclosure of the temple is known as Meghanada Pracira and the external dimensions of it are 665 feet by 640 feet. The height of the surface level varys from 20 feet to 24 feet.49 These boundary walls are capped by serrated battlements. On the basis of local tradition and Madalapanji, the Meghanada pracira (prakara) of Jagannatha temple was built in 1448 AD by Kapilendra Deva (1435 -1468 AD), the Suryavamsi ruler of Orissa. 50 The loftiness of the walls proves that the temple had served as fort. In this connection S.S. Gupta has also stated that the temple complex of Lord Jagannatha was designed like a medieval fortress with crenellated battlements and people took shelter inside its walls during invasions.51. Not only that it was a protective measure taken against the 97

attack in the temple. The enclosures were probably used for the defensive purposes in medieval period. There is no any authentic historical evidence to when the outer as well as the inner walls were built. prove