The heritage walk started from the Kanchi Kamakoti Ashram and culminated at Sankarananda
Photo: SNS
Mutt culture is a unique cultural tradition in the religious fabric of the Pilgrim town Puri. While they contribute towards building religious inquisitiveness and spiritual ecosystem, many mutts are also linked to services of the Sri Jagannath Temple and some have specific services to offer during the Car Festival or Rath Yatra.
In order to revive the spiritual narratives linked to the mutt culture and its divine connection to the Trinity and the socio-cultural canvas of Puri, members of Puri Heritage Walks (PHW) organized the fourth walk “Mahodadhi Monastic Trail: Exploring the Ancient Monasteries” yesterday. Nearly 50 heritage enthusiasts from various regions of the state took part in this interesting episode of PHW.
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The heritage walk started from the Kanchi Kamakoti Ashram and culminated at Sankarananda Mutt. According to historians and heritage experts though it started way back in 6th to 7th Century AD, its popularity touched its zenith at around 12th Century AD following a great spiritual renaissance.
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While all mutts (monasteries) had an illustrious presence over the religious landscape of Puri or Sankha Kshetra for more than 1,300 years and are primarily with Vaishnavite philosophy, devotees from every nook and corner of India came to this holy land to spread “Sanatana Dharma” worldwide. For the people to walk on the path of salvation, mutt played a dynamic role.
The PHW participants visited Kanchi Kamakoti Ashram, Sankaracharya Mutt, Kabir Chaura Ashram, Bidur Mutt, Bauli Mutt, Swarg Shidi, Ramanuj Kot and Shankarananda Mutt. Eminent historian and researcher Dr Surendra Mishra explained the uniqueness of the mutt culture of the holy city. Senior member of PHW and researcher Devi Prasanna Nanda and heritage expert Sidharth Acharya also spoke about the heritage aspects of the mutts.
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