Shreekhetra

Shreekhetra is one of the numerous titles given to Puri. Situated on the Bay of Bengal coast in Odisha, this pilgrimage site is viewed as the most sacred place in India as it is the divine dwelling place of Lord Jagannatha. In ancient texts like Skanda Purana and Brahma Purana, Lord Jagannatha is known as Lord Purushottama and His holy land, Puri, is called Purushottama-kshetra after Him. This sacred place is declared as the divine physical form of the Lord, known as “Bapuh”. The Skanda Purana describes the greatness of Purushottama-kshetra in the following manner.

While Lord Jagannatha is omnipresent and the origin of all, and other sacred places can cleanse all sins, this specific holy place is superior because it has become the physical form of the Supreme Being. He is there in person, taking on a particular appearance, and has given that location its name. In Utkala-khanda, Chapter 1, verses 8 and 9 talk about the same amount of words, but the vocabulary and phrasing are different.

Puri is considered one of India’s four most holy pilgrimage sites for Hindus, known as “Dhams”. Bhagvatapada Adi Shankaracharya, the prominent reformer of Sanatana Vaidika Dharma, identified Jagannatha Puri in the east, Dwarika in the west, Badrinath in the north, and Rameswaram in the south as the four sacred Dhams. Yet, Adi Shankaracharya’s high regard for Puri is demonstrated by his appointment of Padmapada as the initial Acharya of Shree Goverdhan Peeth in Puri, and his selection of Rigveda as the primary scripture for dissemination by this Peeth.

According to the Brahma Purana, Purushottama kshetra covers an area of ten yojanas (90 miles) in length and five yojanas in width.