The story of the City of Puri will be incomplete without a paragraph on the Sevayats of Lord Jagannath who are the earliest inhabitants of the place. They are Adi Aryas (ARYANS) migrated to the City after the Completion of the Great Temple to carry on the services of the Lord.
After the temple was complete in all respects, search was on to find out the best Brahmin Pundits from all over India and from Hindu Lands. Now we find about 30000 of them in service of the Lord and they are called Puri Brahmins or Utkali Brahmins and respected by Hindus all over the world as their religious Gurus.
The Sevayats have been regrouped as thirtysix types depending upon the type of worships they perform. The most prominent among them are seven categories of Puri Brahmins which include Mekap, Pratihari, Khuntia, Pujapanda, Mudirastha, Taluchha and Bhitarachha perhaps in that order. All the seven categories are rich people and have the lion`s share of duties of the Sevayats.
