Patachitras of Orissa

Jagannath temple complex, Puri


View over the temple complex from the east, looking toward the shikhara (tower) over the bada deul (inner sanctum)	View inside the temple complex at the eastern lion gate (main entrance) of temple	Ancillary small temples within the Jagannath temple complex	Looking down Grand Road from a building adjacent to the temple


In front of the lion gate (main entrance) to the temple is the Aruna Stambha, or pillar of Aruna (charioteer of the sun god)	Shikhara (tower) viewed from the street on the west side of the temple complex	Tiger gate on the west side of the temple	Street along the temple (temple towers at top right)

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Small Jagannath temple, Medinipur city (in West Medinipur district, in the southwest part of West Bengal state, just north of the state of Orissa)


View to front of the temple, with small wheeled processional cart	View along the right side of the temple	View along the left side of the temple, with temple storeroom and street	Painted wood statues of Jagannath triad (L to R: Balabhadra, Subhadra, Jagannath) kept in the temple storeroom


Entrance to the inner sanctum of the temple: carved wooden door behind a closed gate	Wood relief carvings of Vishnu incarnations on the main door to the temple (L: Vishnu as man-lion slaying Hiranyakashipu; R; Vishnu as dwarf taming the pride of Bala)	Decorative front facade of the temple	Street along the temple

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Large modern Jagannath temple, Kharagpur city (in West Medinipur district, in the southwest part of West Bengal state, just north of the state of Orissa)


Jagannath temple and grounds	Mural painting of Jagannath triad on a wall of the temple office building	Door to the inner sanctum of the shrine (closed during the deities' midday rest)	Countryside with flooded rice fields on the road to the Jagannath temple, Kharagpur

Sculptural details Jagannath temple, Kharagpur city


Shikhara (tower) over the bada deul (inner sanctum) of the temple	Close-up of shikhara with its gentle convex form, horizontal pidas, and relief carvings	Relief sculpture in a temple hallway, showing the kanchi avijana (journey to Kanchi) episode from the mythology of Jagannath and Balabhadra	Paired high relief sculptures on exterior, erotic and religious (L: copulating couple; R: meditating Vishnu)

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Jagannath Mahapatra studio, Raghurajpur (family studio run by Sudarshan Mahapatra, who named his studio after his well-known artist father)


Jagannath Mahapatra studio, Raghurajpur	Women artists working on a tasser painting on silk	Scenes along a canal and road in Raghurajpur

Chitrakara's (artist's) studio, Puri


Chitrakara's studio, Puri	Chitrakara's studio, Puri; artists at work on tasser painting on silk (note that this studio also produces soapstone statues)	Chitrakara's studio, close-up of artists at work	Street outside chitrakara's studio

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Patachitras (Orissa)