Chapter 3 - Lord Jagannatha Temple

conventional mount of Lord Visṇu has been installed on the top of the pillar. The sthambha or pillar is circular in section and its height is about 9 feet from the floor of the nāṭamaṇḍapa. The outer walls of the naṭamaṇḍapa are bereft of ornamentations. Access to the hall is maintained through two wide openings; one on the north and another on the south. The northern and southern side doorways of the nāṭamaṇḍapa are completely undecorated. There are few other openings to the covered passage of the kitchen. Other four small rooms attached to the sides are meant for worship of some deities and the orchestra. The bāḍa of the nāṭamaṇḍapa is surmounted by the flat roof which contains five rainwater spouts shaped like the mouth of the makara. The top of the four sides of the roof are decorated with serrated battlements. M.M.Ganguly has described that the nāṭamaṇḍapa is a subsequent addition to the jagamohana. Its constructive peculiarities are similar to those of the nāṭamaṇḍapa of Lingaraja temple of Bhubaneswar, which is a piḍhā mohana.35 According to S.S. Gupta the nāṭamaṇḍapa of Jagannātha temple was added later, probably in the 15th century AD, during the reign of the Gajapati dynasty.3 P.K.Pattnaik has referred to the nāṭamaṇḍapa as a construction of the time of Pratāparudra Deva (1495 to 1532 AD), the Suryavaṃsi ruler of Orissa.37 On the other hand, T.E. Donaldson has mentioned that the nāṭamaṇḍapa of Jagannatha temple was built in the late 13th century AD.38 On the basis of architectural features, the construction period of the nāṭamaṇḍapa can be tentatively assigned to the last quarter of the 13th century AD. There are seven steps in the southern doorway and these are commonly known as sātapāhāca. Deities while going to cars during Car-festival come through these pāhāca and in the last 'pāhāca'; they are decorated with tahiyā (a betel leaf design made of flowers and sticks). Bhogamandapa (Hall of offering) The bhogamaṇḍapa of the Jagannātha temple stands immediately to the east of the nāṭamaṇḍapa. It is a pancaratha pidhā deuḷa like the jagamohana and it is made of yellowish sand stones rendered red-ochre painting. This structure is profusely carved in the most finished style of Orissan art. It is the only part of the temple complex, which is not suffered from plastering and white wash. The structure of bhogamaṇḍapa is smaller than the other sanctuaries. It measures 58 93