Also known as the “Garden House of Lord Jagannath”, Gundicha Temple is one of the prominent temples of Puri. The temple holds a major significance to the Rath Yatra Festival of Puri. It is about 3 km away from the main Jagannath temple, Shrimandira and both these temples are positioned on the either end of the Grand Road- Bada Danda that is route for the well-known Puri Rath Yatra.
The temple is named after the queen of Indradyumna, whose name was Gundicha. Actually, no significant activity is seen in the Gundicha throughout the year, except the nine days of the Rath Yatra. The cleaning of the temple is done a day before the yatra and the process of cleaning has given a special name- Gundicha marjana. it is done to welcome Lord Jagannath, Subhadra and Baladeva.
The temple has a boundary of walls on all the four sides and is surrounded by the lush green trees. The place where it is situated is known as Sundarachala and is compared to the place where Jagannath was known to reside. Though you can plan your visit to this holy place anytime of the year but it would be the best idea to reach there on the Rath Yatra Festival.
