The Puranas say that King Indradyumna built the temple. There was a dispute about this at one time. King Galmadhav claimed the temple as his. Finally, the crows who took refuge in the Kalpabat in the temple premises and the few witnesses in Indradyumna gave evidence, and all the disputes were settled and Indradyumna was determined to be the real builder of the temple. Such an interesting legend about the temple of Lord Jagannath is still widely discussed today.
King Indradyumna went to heaven to invite Brahma to build and inaugurate the temple. Meanwhile, thousands of years passed. The temple remained undecorated and the deity was unworshipped. The temple was invaded by Balibant. During that time, Galmadhav became the king of Utkal. One day, while he was traveling with his army, his horse stumbled on a sandy hill. When the king got down, he saw some parts of the Nila Chakra in the sand. On the king’s orders, all the soldiers cleared the sand and a huge temple was found. King Galmadhav installed Madhav in the said temple and performed puja. The fame of the temple spread far and wide. Meanwhile, Indradyumna, who had taken Brahma from heaven and returned to Srikshetra, saw Madhav’s puja in the temple and reached Galmadhav with all the news. Galmadhav said that this was his temple. A dispute arose regarding the construction of the temple, and proof was sought as to who had actually built the temple.
Brahma intervened in the dispute between King Indradyumna and King Galmadhav. Since so many years had passed, who would know Indradyumna and give a witness? When the Kaljaya reached the Kalpabat, Bhusandakak, who had taken refuge there for a long time, said that he had seen the construction of the temple from beginning to end and King Indradyumna was its builder. Galmadhav said that one witness was not enough. When Indradyumna reached the pond for the second witness, the tortoises, who were basking in the sun, went into the water. When Brahma called them, the tortoises hid in fear when they saw King Indradyumna. Indradyumna made us carry stones to build the temple and made us human beings. The tortoises, who were hiding in fear, thought that the king might call us to carry stones again. After everyone heard this, it was decided that King Indradyumna was the original builder of the temple and from then on King Galmadhav was known as ‘Galua Galmadhav’, says the writer Bhagirathi Nepak.
