The people who feed, wash, wake and carry the god: a hereditary body of servants, some of tribal origin, some Brahman, who live on the temple's grants and the gifts of pilgrims.
They are not a state, but they are a power: the kings' legitimacy runs through them and through the god they serve, and a king who quarrels with the servants is a king who quarrels with the god. On 1 January 1200 the temple has stood for about two generations and is the largest single endowment of the Ganga coast. What their orders were in 1200 and how they were ranked is not known to me; the later lists are far from this date.
Who he is
- Name
- not named for 1200
- Title
- Servitors (sevayats) of the temple of Jagannatha at Puri; the Daitapatis, the Sabara priests and the Brahman priests
- Since
- not known
- Born
- not known
- Family
- The Daitapatis claim descent from hill tribes (English Wikipedia: a claim, not an established fact); tribal Bhil Sabar priests perform worship in the same account; Brahmans serve the Vedic rites. The later system of thirty-six orders (the Chhatisa Niyoga) does not appear in the pages we opened.
- Confidence
- low
English Wikipedia, Jagannath Temple, Puri. The temple was begun after 1112, according to that page (its inference), by Chodaganga; a plate of 1134-35 records his gift; the Ratha Yatra is said there to have been instituted about 1150 (unverified); Anangabhima III is the first to call himself "Rauta" (servant) of the deity, in 1238.
Overlord
Rajaraja III as patron; the temple itself is the true lord of the coastal legitimacy.
What it holds
- The service of the god and the temple's grants (the sasana villages near Puri)
- The festival cycle (Snana Yatra and Ratha Yatra, with the date of the latter unverified for 1200)
- The right to receive and to feed the pilgrims
How it was acquired
By hereditary office under the Ganga kings.
Allies and rivals
The Gangas; the Vaishnava teachers; the Shaiva priests of Lingaraja, who are the rival cult.
How things stand that morning
The temple is in use; the servants are numerous and well fed. No quarrel with the king is recorded. The size and ranks of the body are not attested for this year.
Wealth
Pilgrim offerings, endowed villages (sasanas), tolls and gifts of the kings.
Military
None; the temple relies on the king.
Threats
- A Turkish raid after 1205 (Madala Panji speaks of invasions without dates)
- A king who withdraws the grants
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1238Anangabhima III dedicates the kingdom to the deity and takes the title Rauta.Depends on: The Gangas link their rule to the god. Stopped by: A collapse of the dynasty.
Places of note
- Puri: The temple town.
Where the sources disagree
- The assignment says "Jagannath servants". The pages we could open do not give the orders, only the Daitapatis and the Sabar priests as groups; the 36 orders and the Pandas I know from the later tradition and we have not placed them in 1200.
Evidence: A temple whose organisation is documented late.
On the map: A single patch round the town; the grant villages are scattered.
Primary sources for Eastern Gangas
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The Lesser Chronicle (the continuation of the Mahavamsa), Dhammakitti and later monks of the Mahavihara tradition (the first continuation about the 13th century (chapters 37 to 79), carried on in stages to the 18th century). The only narrative source for Lanka in 1200. Read online
- Inscriptions of Bengal, vol. 3, Various (the Sena kings' chanceries), edited by N. G. Majumdar (copper plates of the 10th to early 13th centuries; edited 1929). The one-volume edition of the Sena copper plates, the main documentary evidence for Bengal around 1200. Read online
- Epigraphia Indica: inscriptions of the Chandelas, Paramaras, Gahadavalas, Chaulukyas, Senas and Eastern Gangas, Various (edited for the Archaeological Survey of India by J. Burgess, E. Hultzsch, F. Kielhorn, Sten Konow, F. W. Thomas and successors) (inscriptions of the 1180s to 1210s; the series ran from 1892). The main record series for the Hindu kingdoms of northern India around 1200. Read online
- Epigraphia Zeylanica: lithic and other inscriptions of Ceylon, Various (the Polonnaruwa kings' chanceries), edited by D. M. de Zilva Wickremasinghe, H. W. Codrington and S. Paranavitana (inscriptions of the 3rd century BC to the 18th century; the series ran from 1904). Prints with translation the stone records of the Polonnaruwa kings who held or lost the throne around 1200. Read online
- The Song of Govinda, Jayadeva (late 12th century, by tradition at the court of Lakshmanasena of Bengal). A literary witness, not a chronicle. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.