Current Science

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

Palaeo-Channel Bisecting Puri Town, Odisha:Vestige of the Lost River ‘Saradha’?


Affiliations
1 Department of Geology and Geophysics, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur - 721 302, India
2 Department of Geology and Geophysics, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur - 721 302
3 Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 721 302, India
 

Puri, an ancient town located on the Odisha (Orissa) coast in eastern India, is associated with the 12th century CE Jagannath Temple. Many ancient and historical texts mention a mythical river named Saradha that flowed across the present Grand Road (Badadanda) between the Jagannath and Gundicha temples in Puri, dividing the town into two parts. This study traces the trail of a palaeo-channel beyond and within the heart of Puri town through an integrated study of geology, satellite imagery and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey. Various satellite imagery manipulation techniques – band combination, NDVI, MNDWI, linear spectral unmixing algorithm, density slice and spatial profiling – indicate the existence of water components along with vegetation bands, and the presence of a sinusoidal palaeo-channel trace with a V-shaped topographic outline. This is interpreted to represent the remnants of an extinct river valley. GPR survey also suggests that a subsurface river valley, about 128 m wide, existed across parts of the Grand Road. A large, sinusoidal water body near the sea beach at Puri, may represent the last remains of the dried-up channel. Integration of all these features suggests that a river once existed between Jagannath and Gundicha temples in Puri town. The constructed palaeo-channel trail may be that of the lost Saradha river described in ancient texts. The study develops a sequential methodology for identifying palaeo-channels even in urbanized localities like Puri.

Keywords

Ancient Texts, Lost River, Puri, Satellite Imagery.
User
Notifications
Font Size

  • Powell, C. McA., Roots, S. R. and Veevers, J. J., Pre-breakup continental extension in East Gondwanaland and the early opening of the eastern Indian Ocean. Tectonophysics, 1988, 155, 261–283.

  • Ramana, M. V. et al., Mesozoic anomalies in the Bay of Bengal. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 1994, 121, 469–475.

  • Jana, S., Mohanty, W. K., Gupta, S., Rath, C. S., Behera, R. R. and Patnaik, P., Multi-pronged search for paleo-channels near Konark temple, Odisha – implications for the mythical river Chandrabhaga. Curr. Sci., 2016, 111, 1387–1393.

  • Gupta, S., Strain localization, granulite formation and geodynamic setting of ‘hot orogens’: case study from the Eastern Ghats Province, India. Geol. J., 2012, 47, 334–351; doi:10.1002/gj.1328.

  • Behera, L., Sain, K. and Reddy, P. R., Evidence of underplating from seismic and gravity studies in the Mahanadi delta of eastern India and its tectonic significance. J. Geophys. Res., 2004, 109, 1–25.

  • Nayak, G. K., Rao, C. R. and Rambabu, H. V., Aeromagnetic evidence for the arcuate shape of Mahanadi Delta, India. Earth Planets Space, 2006, 58, 1093–1098.

  • Mahalik, N. K., Das, C. and Maejima, W., Geomorphology and evolution of the Mahanadi delta, India. J. Geosci., 1996, 39, 111–122 8. Ghose, B., Kar, A. and Hussain, Z., The lost courses of the Saraswati river in the Great Indian Desert: new evidence from Landsat imagery. Geogr. J., 1979, 145, 446–451.

  • Gupta, A. K., Sharma, J. R., Sreenivasan, G. and Srivastava, K. S., New findings on the course of River Sarasvati. J. Indian Soc. Remote Sensing, 2004, 32, 1–24.

  • Kshetrimayum, K. S. and Bajpai, V. N., Establishment of missing stream link between the Markanda river and the Vedic Saraswati river in Haryana, India – geoelectrical resistivity approach. Curr. Sci., 2011, 100, 1719–1724.

  • Mitra, D. S. and Badhu, B., Possible contribution of River Saraswati in groundwater aquifer system in western Rajasthan, India. Curr. Sci., 2012, 102, 685-689.

  • Tagare. G. V., The Skanda Purana, Motilal Banarasidas, Delhi, 1994, Part 5, pp. 31–112.

  • Parameswaranand, S., Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Puranas, Swarup & Sons, New Delhi, 2001, vol. 1, pp. 320–321.

  • Mishra, P., Kapila Samhita: Text with English Translation and Critical Study, New Bharatiya Book Corporation, New Delhi, 2005, pp. 316–319.

  • Mohanty, A., Madala Panji, Prachi Sahitya Samiti, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, 1940, 3rd edn, p. 26.

  • Kulke, H. and Tripathi, G. C., Katakarajavamshabali: A Traditional History of Orissa, Allahabad, 1987, p. 78.

  • Nayak, A., Bhaktara Jagannatha, Sathi Publication, Cuttack, 1998, pp. 119–120.

  • Mohanty, B. (ed.), Nilachakre Ho Dekha Uduchi Bana, Prachina Odia Kabyadarshana (Orissa Sahitya Akademi), Bhubaneswar, 1978, p. 61.

  • Xu, H., Modification of normalised difference water index (NDWI) to enhance open water features in remotely sensed imagery. Int. J. Remote Sensing, 2006, 27, 3025–3033.

  • Shimabukuro, Y. E., and Smith, J. A., The least-squares mixing models to generate fraction images derived from remote sensing multispectral data, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sensing, 1991, 29, 16–20.

  • Rogers, A. S. and Kearney, M. S., Reducing signature variability in unmixing coastal marsh Thematic Mapper scenes using spectral indices. Int. J. Remote Sensing, 2004, 25(12), 2317–2335.

  • Bhaskar, A. S. and Binoj Kumar, R. B., Remote sensing of coastal geomorphology to understand river migration in the Thengapatnam area, southern India. Int. J. Remote Sensing, 2011, 32, 5287–5301.

  • Nandini, C. V., Sanjeevi, S. and Bhaskar, A. S., An integrated approach to map certain palaeochannels of South India using remote sensing, geophysics, and sedimentological techniques. Int. J. Remote Sensing, 2013, 34, 6507–6528.

  • Conyers, L. B., Interpreting Ground-Penetrating Radar for Archaeology, Left Coast Press, Inc., California, USA, 2012.


Abstract Views: 345

PDF Views: 143




  • Palaeo-Channel Bisecting Puri Town, Odisha:Vestige of the Lost River ‘Saradha’?

Abstract Views: 345  |  PDF Views: 143

Authors

Subhamoy Jana
Department of Geology and Geophysics, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur - 721 302, India
William Kumar Mohanty
Department of Geology and Geophysics, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur - 721 302, India
Saibal Gupta
Department of Geology and Geophysics, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur - 721 302
Chirashree Srabani Rath
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 721 302, India
Priyadarshi Patnaik
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 721 302, India

Abstract


Puri, an ancient town located on the Odisha (Orissa) coast in eastern India, is associated with the 12th century CE Jagannath Temple. Many ancient and historical texts mention a mythical river named Saradha that flowed across the present Grand Road (Badadanda) between the Jagannath and Gundicha temples in Puri, dividing the town into two parts. This study traces the trail of a palaeo-channel beyond and within the heart of Puri town through an integrated study of geology, satellite imagery and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey. Various satellite imagery manipulation techniques – band combination, NDVI, MNDWI, linear spectral unmixing algorithm, density slice and spatial profiling – indicate the existence of water components along with vegetation bands, and the presence of a sinusoidal palaeo-channel trace with a V-shaped topographic outline. This is interpreted to represent the remnants of an extinct river valley. GPR survey also suggests that a subsurface river valley, about 128 m wide, existed across parts of the Grand Road. A large, sinusoidal water body near the sea beach at Puri, may represent the last remains of the dried-up channel. Integration of all these features suggests that a river once existed between Jagannath and Gundicha temples in Puri town. The constructed palaeo-channel trail may be that of the lost Saradha river described in ancient texts. The study develops a sequential methodology for identifying palaeo-channels even in urbanized localities like Puri.

Keywords


Ancient Texts, Lost River, Puri, Satellite Imagery.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv115%2Fi2%2F300-309