Bedi Hanuman Temple, Puri

Bedi Hanuman Temple, as the name suggests, is the chained Hanuman temple and is a small temple by the sea towards the west of Chakranarayan Temple in Puri. It is also called the Daria Mahavir Temple; Daria means ‘sea’ and Mahavir is an alternate name of Lord Hanuman.

Once, when Hanuman who was in charge of guarding Puri against the rage of the sea went to Ayodhya without informing Lord Jagannath, sea water entered the city and damaged the temple. To ensure future security, Lord Jagannath chained Hanuman commanding him to be vigilant day and night.

The outer walls of the temple with images of different deities such as Anjana pampering a baby on her lap on the western side wall, an adorned pedestal holding female divinities on the northern side wall, and Lord Ganesha on the southern side wall add to the cultural glory of Puri.