The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hindusim vol 2

Organs of Action
Temple to the sun at Konarak, in Orissa.
484
a person’s ability to hold his breath.
Whether or not these speculations have
any merit, the most important feature in
the original Hindu context was the belief
in the power of truth itself.
Organs of Action
See karmendriya.
Orissa
A state in modern India on the eastern
coast between the states of Andhra
Pradesh and West Bengal. Orissa traces
its roots to the kingdom of Kalinga and
the bloody conquest by the Mauryan
emperor Ashoka (r. 269–232 B.C.E.).
During the early medieval period the
Kesari and Ganga dynasties built stunning
temples, many of which exist today.
Modern Orissa is largely undeveloped,
and a large percentage of its people are
indigenous tribal peoples (adivasis).
Historically, Hindu culture has been
manifest in the coastal regions, whereas
the interior has been tribal land. Orissa’s
sacred sites include the Ganga-era
temples in the state capital of
Bhubaneshvar, the sacred city of Puri,
and the temple to the Sun at Konarak.
For general information about Orissa
and all the regions of India, see Christine
Nivin et al., India. 8th ed., Lonely Planet,
1998. See also Maurya dynasty.
Orissi
One of the classical dance forms of
India; some of the others are Kathak,
Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathakali,
and Manipuri. Dance in Orissa dates to
the second century B.C.E.; the present
Orissi style has its roots in the dance
performed at the temple of the god
Jagannath in Puri. The temple itself was
built in the eleventh century; the subsidiary
part, known as the natamandira
(“dance-hall”), was built about a century
later. The latter period was the era of the
poet Jayadeva, whose lyric poem, the
Gitagovinda, is the only non-scriptural
poem that can be recited in the temple.
According to tradition, Jayadeva’s wife,
Padmavati, was one of the dancers in
the temple, and it was she who first
danced parts of the Gitagovinda as an
offering to Jagannath. As dance at the