WHA Annual Meeting: Korea 2026

Temples functioned not only as religious centres but also as important economic institutions in early medieval India. This paper examines monetary and non-monetary dynamics through a comparative study of two major sacred institutions of early medieval Orissa- the Lingaraja Temple in Bhubaneswar and the Jagannatha Temple in Puri. These two temples were constructed under the Somavaṃśī and Gaṅga dynasties between the 11th and 13th centuries CE. Both temples were important to the social, political and religious life at that time, but inscriptions show that they had different monetary engagements. The Lingaraja Temple relied largely on in-kind donations, like agrarian endowments, produce, and services, without recorded instances of coin-based offerings. In contrast, the Jagannatha Temple actively received and utilised monetary donations, including madhas, niṣkas, fanams, and māḍas; often reserved for specific purposes such as sustaining cows for ghee, provisioning bhoga and mahāprasāda, and maintaining perpetual lamps. Both of the temples received significant land endowments which included agricultural surplus into their economic functions. These paradoxes raise questions about the spatial unevenness of monetization in early medieval Orissa. Scholars have established diverse interpretive frameworks to analyse temple economies and regional economic histories; nonetheless, the question of monetization in these two temples has received minimal attention. This paper demonstrates the idea of simultaneous presence of monetized and non-monetized modes of exchange in the respective temples between the 11th and 13th centuries CE. However, it also contributes to a more nuanced understanding of temple economies and the complex regional participation in the economic development trajectories in early medieval India.