Description
This comprehensive report documents David Boyes Smith’s pilgrimage to the Jagannath Temple in Juggernaut during 1868, offering a meticulous examination of religious practices and social conditions in nineteenth-century Odisha. The author combines personal narrative with detailed observations of the pilgrimage route through Orissa.
The work includes a thorough sanitary survey of Puri, addressing critical health concerns of the era, particularly the prevalence and transmission of cholera among pilgrims. Smith analyzes inland quarantine procedures, proposes a pilgrim sanitary tax system, and examines lodging conditions that directly impacted public health outcomes. This historical document serves as valuable evidence of colonial-era public health infrastructure, disease prevention strategies, and the challenges faced by authorities managing mass religious gatherings in India.
An important contribution to understanding the intersection of religion, public health, and colonial administration in 19th-century India.
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