Puri

One of the four Dhams of Hinduism, Puri is the ancient city that brins with the magic of tourist places that can win hearts in a blink. It's only when one walks along with the many pilgrimages in Puri, chanting the name of Lord Jagannath, that he feels the outpour of peace in his soul.

The District of Puri has been named after its headquarters, Puri. According to Cunningham, the ancient name of this town was Charitra, mentioned by the Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang as Che-li-ta-lo. But the restoration of the word Che-li-ta-lo as Charitra and its identification with the town of Puri are open to doubt. The importance of the town as a seat of Vaisnavism increased when Chodaganga Deva constructed the temple of Purusottama Jagannath and installed the images of the deities. Thereafter, it became famous as the abode of Purusottama and was popularly called Purusottama Kshetra.

In 1912, the new province of Bihar and Odisha was formed and subsequently, Odisha became a separate province in 1936. After integration with Odisha on 1^st January 1948, of the feudatory states of Nayagarh, Daspalla, Khandapara and Ranapur with a total area of 3941 sq. km., a separate sub-division comprising these ex-states was added to Puri District with its headquarters at Nayagarh. The fourth sub-division of Bhubaneswar was established on 26^th January 1959. The old Puri District consisted of four sub-divisions i.e. Puri Sadar, Khordha, Bhubaneswar and Nayagarh. Puri Sadar sub-division consisted of four Tahasils i.e. 1) Krushna Prasad 2) Sadar 3) Pipili and 4) Nimapara. Again by the year 1995, Puri District was divided into 3 Districts i.e.1. Nayagarh District comprising of Nayagarh sub-division. 2. Khurda District comprising of Khordha and Bhubaneswar sub-divisions. 3. Puri District comprising of Puri Sadar sub-division only.