Bada Danda (grand road)
Puri is a small town for which this ‘Bada Danda’ or the Grand Truck Road is really proportionately a big one. Therefore the name ‘Bada Danda’ (Grand Road) is definitely a meaningful one. This road is very wide in comparison to the size of the town. It is because the world famous Car Festival of the Lords is celebrated here every year, For the movement of the chariots on the road amidst innumerable visitors this road was made very long back. This shows the foresight of the people of Orissa in the field of town planning. For movement in this Grand road towards Temple one has to keep the vehicle at a distance and Police stop Boards are found put up in places. One has to walk about ½ Kilometer if your are not a VIP. In and around in this road variety of shops are available. Many Dharmasala and Hotels on either side and vegetarian restaurants are also located. The Bada Danda is revered by the pilgrims and devotees as sacred. The three Chariots of Jagannatha, Balabhadra and Subhadra start from the Simha Dvara of the Temple of Jagannath and reach at ‘Gundicha gara’, at the other end of the Bada Danda. In between ‘Gundicha ghara’ and Simha Dvara’ there comes the shrine of a Goddess, Ardhamsini or Ardhasini popularly known as Mousi ma (aunt) of Jagannath where the Lords take a Bhoga of ‘Podapitha’, a special milk cake. It is stated in Skanda Purana, Vaisnava Khanda that during the deluge, when the sea overflooded Puri, this Goddess drank half of the flood water and saved the town. Therefore her name became (Ardham asnati iti) Ardhasini. The Bada Danda or Grand Road is about 3Km long which is the heart of Puri town bustling with a modern market Centres like Grand Centre, Annapurna Complex, Municipal Market, Nayak Plaza etc.
