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All four gates of the 12th-century Jagannath temple in Puri were reopened for devotees in the presence of Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and his Council of Ministers.
The previous BJD government had kept three of the four gates shut since the pandemic.
Devotees had been facing inconvenience as entry was allowed through only one gate.
Opening all the temple gates was a key promise in the BJP’s election manifesto.
Jagannath temple
The temple is believed to be constructed in the 12th century by King Anatavarman Chodaganga Deva of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty.
Jagannath Puri temple is also called ‘Yamanika Tirtha’
This temple was called the “White Pagoda” and is a part of Char Dham pilgrimages (Badrinath, Dwaraka, Puri, Rameswaram).
There are four gates to the temple- Eastern ‘Singhdwara’ which is the main gate with two crouching lions, Southern ‘Ashwadwara’, Western 'Vyaghra Dwara and Northern ‘Hastidwara’.
In front of the entrance stands the Aruna stambha or sun pillar, which was originally at the Sun Temple in Konark.
The temple is famous for its annual Ratha Yatra, or chariot festival, in which the three principal deities are pulled on huge and elaborately decorated raths, or temple cars
Puri
Puri is a coastal city and a municipality in the state of Odisha and is situated on the Bay of Bengal
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