Influenced by the teachings and writings of sudramuni Sarala Dasa, many poet-saints of the 16th century dedicated themselves to the educational and cultural uplift of the deprived sections of Orissan society. They strove for a new social order by writing and protesting against caste, untouchability, the indignity of the sudras and women, and all exploitative features of the sanskritic order. Puri, the great pilgrimage centre and the heart of Jagannata culture was the nucleus of their movement. It is in their works that we see most clearly the far-reaching transformations in social hierarchy, and what may be called “modernity”, which began to take shape in medieval Orissa.