In Satya yuga there was a king named Indradyumna. He was a very powerful king, and was very devoted to Vishnu. He once decided that he would worship Vishnu at a tirtha, a sacred place of pilgrimage.

Indradyumna scanned all the existing tirthas and cities. But none of them satisfied him. None of them, he felt, was appropriate as a place for worshiping Vishnu. Indradyumna was not satisfied with any of the temples in his kingdom and  wanted to build another temple to Vishnu. He left his kingdom in search of a proper place along with his soldiers and subjects. After travelling long, they arrived on the shores of the southern ocean known as lavana samudra.

There were so many waves in the ocean that the ocean itself seemed to be dancing. Marine animals lived in the ocean and the waters were also the source of all sorts of jewels. Indradyumna began to live on the shores of the ocean. He discovered a place near the ocean that was thick with flower and fruit trees. Many types of birds gathered there to eat the fruit. This was the place known as Purushottama kshetra , the city of Puri of modern times.

Purushottama kshetra was a very important tirtha. But all knowledge of this tirtha had been hidden until Indradyumna arrived on the scene. There was a reason for this. Many years ago, there used to be an image of Vishnu there, where people used to pray. So sacred was the image that all the sins of the worshippers were immediately forgiven. The result was that Yama could not punish any of the sinners. They simply prayed to Vishnu’s image and escaped. Yama therefore prayed to Vishnu for a solution. Vishnu hid the image under the sand so that no one knew that it existed.

Indradyumna liked Purushottama kshetra. The river Mahanadi or Chitroplala flowed not very far away. The people who lived around the place were religious. He decided that this was the right place for building a temple to Vishnu. On an auspicious day, the foundation stone was laid.

Indradyumna then got in touch with the kings of Kalinga, Utkala and Koshala. He requested their help in fetching stones for the building of the temple. The kings sent their architects to the Vindhya mountains. The stones were gathered from these mountains and brought to Purushottama Kshetra in boats and chariots. Messengers were also sent to several other kings for aid. They came with their armies and with a lot of wealth and helped in building the temple. After the temple was built, there remained the more important question of the image. Indradyumna began to pray to Vishnu for guidance.

Vishnu appeared before Indradyumna in a dream and said, Why are you so miserable? When the sun rises, got to the shores of the ocean. There you will find a tree. Half of the tree is in the water and the remaining half in the sand. Chop down this tree. Its wood will give you the material for the image.

In the morning, Indradyumna went to the seashore and found the tree. It was just as Vishnu had described it to be. With an axe, he chopped down the tree. As he was about to slice the trunk in two, two brahmanas appeared before him. Although Indradyumna did not know it, these two brahmanas were Vishnu and Vishvakarma in disguise. King, what have you done? exclaimed the brahmanas. You have cut down the only tree that was on the shores of the ocean.

Forgive me, replied Indradyumna. I wished to make an image of Vishnu. Vishnu has instructed me in a dream that this is the tree from which the image should be made.

That is an excellent idea, said the brahmana who was Vishnu in disguise. There is nothing so holy as praying to Vishnu. Meet my companion. He is as skilled as the great Vishvakarma himself. If you want, he will build the image for you.

King Indradyumna agreed. And instructed by Vishnu, Vishvakarma started to build the image. Or, to be more accurate, there were three diffferent images. The first one was that of Baladeva or Balarama. This was completely while in colour, except for the eyes, which were red. The image was dressed in blue and snake held its hood over Balarama’s head. A club and a mace were in Balarama’s hands. The second image was Krishna’s This was blue in colour, with eyes like lotus flowers. The image was dressed in yellow and had a chakra inits hand. The third image was that of Krishna’s sister Subhadra. This image was golden in colour and was dressed in wonderful clothes.

When Indradyumna discovered that the images were made in a matter of minutes, he was thundersturck. He realized that the two brhamanas could not be mere mortals. He fell at their feet and said, Please tell me who you are. You cannot be humans.

Vishnu and Vishvakarma then revealed their true selves and Indradyumna was thrilled. Vishnu blessed the king and told him that he would rule for ten thousand and nine hundred years. And even after Indradyumna died, a place would be reserved for him in heaven.

On an auspicious day, the three images were instated in the temple.