142 C. W. ODLING^ C. S.I.J M.INST. O.E.J ON ORISSA : 



into it. The name of one of its chief rivers, Yaitarani, the Eiver of 

 Death, is perhaps one indication of the dread the Indian felt in 

 penetrating Orissa. The chief cause was the number of great 

 rivers which crossed the land and the want of roads. The former 

 difficulty prevented the construction of a railway, and any one who- 

 now goes down into the heart of the country on towards Madras, 

 by the line which passes through or near all the places mentioned 

 by Mr. Odling, will appreciate the magnitude of the task and the- 

 triumph of the engineers who, to the credit of our country, have 

 opened up such an interesting and valuable province. Its value is- 

 indeed great, for it is one of the chief rice-growing tracts in the- 

 world. At the time of one of my visits all the railway platforms 

 were loaded with it. There are several points on which I should 

 like to make a few remarks, or rather to ask a few questions. The- 

 first is as to the history. 



It is said that when the last Hindu ruler of Bengal, Lakhmanya. 

 Sen, the Vaidya or Physician-King of Lakhnauti, was driven out 

 from his capital by an Afghan conqueror, he fled into Orissa. I 

 should like to ask if there is any trace of him there 1 Is his the- 

 Gangetic line of 1324 ? 



This brings me to Jaganath, or the Lord of the World. We are 

 told that his cult is Vishnuism pure and simple. May we not 

 go a step further and say it is really modified Buddhism 1 Do not 

 some authorities hold that the image contains Buddhist relics ? The^ 

 idol itself is changed at fixed, though varying intervals ; but it 

 is said that its virtue resides in the relics inside it, the nature of 

 which only a few priests know — are they Buddhist ? I had an 

 opportunity of examining the image in August, 1902, when the cars, 

 were out in the road — in consequence of that of Jaganath's brother, 

 Balbhadra, having run into the parapet of a bridge — which on 

 account of etiquette (which exists amongst gods as well as men) did 

 not permit the Lord of the World and his sister to proceed past 

 their brother on their homeward journey from their country-house 

 to the temple. 



The images were all shapeless wooden blocks — as usually described. 

 Another re?«eon given for the want of form is that the divine archi- 

 tect, Visivakarma, who made the first image, was disturbed by the 

 curiosity of the prince for whom it was constructed before his work 

 was completed ; so that curiosity once more in the world's history 



