The leaning temple of Dhama

Akin to the leaning tower of Pisa in Italy, Orissa is also gifted with such an amazing edifice. The Huma temple at village Dhama in Sambalpur district is a rare piece of its kind since the temple is a leaning one. The temple that is dedicated to Lord Shiva is an architectural wonder as it is inclined at an angle of 45 degree to the land though the pinnacle is perpendicular to the ground. And this special factor makes the place a tourist attraction. Not only the temple but some other infrastructure in the temple premises is also leaned here. Apart from the temple ‘Kudo’ fish available in the nearby Mahanadi River is also a must-see element in this destination.

Location

Located at a distance of 23 kilometers from the district head quarter of Sambalpur, Huma temple attracts hundreds of tourists across the year. The shrine, on the bank of river Mahanadi, is dedicated to Lord Bimaleshwar, an incarnation of Lord Shiva of the Hindu trinity.  

Description

The shrine is built over a rectangular platform of 200 ft length and 120 ft width. The main temple of Lord Bimaleswar is evidently inclined towards the North-east side. The surprising thing is that while the main temple is tilted to one direction, remaining temples are tilted to the opposite direction. Within the temple complex everything is found to be in tilted condition including the boundaries. According to the popular belief, the angle of inclination has remained constant over last 50 years.

Legend

The Shiva-Linga in Huma temple is a natural one. As per the legend a cow from a nearby village was habitually coming to the place and pouring milk from its udder over a stone. Finding the cow’s udder dry and milk-less once owner of the cow tracked the cow secretly to this rocky bed and witnessed this miraculous event. He saw the stone consumed milk as the cow poured its milk on it. He propagated this unbelievable incident and everybody believed that the stone is none other than a Shiva linga. Accordingly a temple was constructed there.

How to reach

The spot is accessible only on roadways. One can take hired vehicles from Sambalpur to reach village Dhama. Nearest railway station is Sambalpur. Sambalpur is at a distance of 298 kms from Bhubaneswar, which is also the nearest Aerodrome. Move south from Bhatra chowk to reach village Dhama. When coming from Bhubaneswar Bhatra Chowk is the entrance point to Sambalpur city. Else, from Ainthapali Bus stand come to Laxmi Talkies chowk and move left to reach Jail chowk to take a left turn again to reach Bhatra. From here, take right turn and ride a distance of about 20 kms to arrive at the destination.

Facilities

Since Dhama is a small village and often people visit Huma temple with their own arrangement for a fro journey, the spot does not have any night stay facility. Also you need to take your own lunch pack as no itinerary is found nearby.

When to travel

Though Huma temple can be visited across the year, since many roads are not in good condition due to government apathy in western Orissa, visiting Huma temple in rainy season is not advisable. One can visit here in winter and summer without any hassle.

Other nearby attractions

A couple of shrines dedicated to other Gods and Goddesses are also witnessed in Huma temple premises. They are – the Bhairabi temple, Bhubaneswar temple, Kapileswar temple and newly constructed Jagannath temple and Hanuman temple. Interestingly all these temples including the ‘Aruna Stambha’ and the compound wall are also leaned. In fact, almost everything within the temple complex is inclined.

Kudo Fish

Apart from the temples, a kind of reddish fish (locally called Kudo) in the river is another attraction for tourists. One can also feed the fishes and it is considered sacred. Fishing is not allowed in the river. It is believed that once a woman trapped a fish and when tried to chop it (to prepare fish curry); she at once turned into a stone statue. Since then fishing is prohibited there. Interestingly, the fish come close to the tourists to be fed from their hands. Besides, one can also have a boat ride in the river Mahanadi to a nearby small island at a distance of 100 meters. There are a couple of boats available there and to everybody’s surprise one of the boatmen has only one hand and till he can take you for a boating trip easily rowing his boat.

Janmastami, also birthday of goddess Durga

Wish you a happy janmastami.

Janmashtami marks the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna according to the Hindu calendar. However, the day is not only birthday of Lord Krishna, but it can be accepted as the birthday of Goddess Durga. The festival falls on the eight day of Krishna Paksha (dark fortnight) of the Hindu month of Shravan.

As per the legend Lord Krishna was born to Devaki, daughter of King of Mathura Ugrasena in the prison cell. The princess’ evil brother Kansa, the then king, was keeping Devaki and her husband Vasudeva locked in the prison because of a prophecy which had stated that the eighth son of Devaki would kill Kansa. To safeguard his life, he went on to mercilessly kill all the six children that Devaki had borne.

However, the seventh child who was informed to be miscarried was mystically transferred to the womb of princess Rohini in Vrindavan who grew up to become Balram, the elder brother of Lord Krishna. During the birth of Krishna, Vasudeva was guided by the lord to carry the newborn to Vrindavan to the house of Nanda and Yasoda and returned with their girl child born on the same day. He wanted to present her to King Kansa in the hope that he wouldn’t harm her because the prophecy had said that the eighth ‘son’ would be the one to kill him, and not eighth daughter or eighth issue. But the merciless Kansa held the child and tried to throw her against a rock when she rose to the air taking the form of Goddess Durga. She fiercely laughed and threatened Kansa that his death is sure and got vanished in the space.Maharishi Markendeya gives a detailed account of the ‘pradurbhav’ (emergence) of Goddess Durga in the holy text ‘Durga Saptashati’.

God is always there to help; Open your inner eye to recognize

Even in this Kali yug God is there to help us. Just we need to recognize Him/ Her. The following tale is an ideal instance:

There was a devotional person in a village. He used to spend his day remembering, chanting and serving God. He was of the opinion that God always comes to help us whenever we are in trouble.

Once his village was affected by flood after heavy rain. He started praying God and went to the first floor to save himself from the rising water level when a boatman came in his boat and asked him to jump into the boat. But he refused and replied God will come and help him out. So the boatman went away. The level of water started increasing and the man climbed to the second floor and continued his prayer. Now a rescue team approached him and asked to help. But this time too he refused the team’s service and said God will come to his help.

The water level further increased and he went to the terrace and continued praying God. Now, a rescue helicopter came to his help. The personnel in the copter threw a rope ladder and asked him to climb. But the person repeated the same answer.

Unfortunately water level increased further and he was washed away by the floods. Later when his soul reached heaven he met God and asked: “why didn't you come to my help when I was caught in the flood. I prayed you continuously, but you didn't come to help me out.” God replied, “I came to help you, but you weren't willing to take it, not only once but thrice, first in the form of the boatman, second as the rescue team and finally in the helicopter. But you couldn’t recognise me.”

Moral:

We should never expect god to come directly and help us. He appears before us in some form to help. Just we need to recognise Him.

Parts of Puri Rathyatra Chariots

The famous Rathyatra or Car festival of Lord Jagannath in Puri, Odisha will be held on July 6, 2016. Huge number of devotees will witness the massive event at the grandtrunk road (Badadanda) where the chariots of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and mata Subhadra will be pulled. All these chariots are constructed every year. Here are the names of different parts of the chariots.

TALADHWAJA, the chariot of Lord Balabhadra

The Chariot of Lord Balabhadra is called Taladhwaja, which literary means the chariot having with the picture of palm trees in the flag. The 44 feet high chariot runs with the help of fourteen wooden wheels and each of them are seven foot in diameter. The vehicle is covered with red and blue cloth. 763 numbers of wooden pieces are used in the construction of the chariot while the length and breadth is 33 feet * 33 feet. It is guarded by Basudeva and name of the charioteer is Matali. Tribra, Ghora, Dirghasharma, Swornanava are the four horses and the rope attache to pull the chariot is called Basuki Naga. The presiding deities (called parswa devatas) are Ganesh, Kartikeya, Sarvamangala, Pralambari, Hatayudha, Mrutyunjaya, Natamvara, Mukteswar and Sheshadeva.

DARPADALANA, the chariot of devi Subhadra

The Chariot of devi Subhadra is called Darpadalana, which literally means suppresser of pride. The forty – three feet high chariot is decked with black and red clothes. It runs on 12 wooden wheels of seven foot diameter each. 593 number of wooden pieces are used to construct the chariot while length and breadth is 31’6″ x 31’6”. The vehicle is guarded by Jayadurga while name of the charioteer is Arjuna. The horses are Rochika, Mochika, Jita and Aparajita while the rope is called Swarnachuda Naguni. The presiding nine deities are Chandi, Chamunda, Ugratara, Vanadurga, Shulidurga, Varahi, Shyamakali, Mangala and Vimala.

NANDIGHOSHA, the chariot of Lord Jagannath

Nandighosha, the chariot of Lord Jagannath is of fortyfive feet. It has 16 wheels, each of seven feet diameter. The vehicle is decked with red and yellow clothes. 832 wooden pieces are used in the chariot while its length and breadth is 34’6″ x 34’6″. It is guarded by Garuda and Dahuka is the charioteer. Is the name of its flag and Trailokyamohini Shankha, Balahaka, Suweta, Haridashwa are the horses. Name of the rope is Sankhachuda Naguni and the presiding deities of the chariot are Varaha, Gobardhan, Krushna, Gopi Krushna, Nrusingha, Rama, Narayan, Trivikrama, Hanuman and Rudra. 

Supreme power exists even in this Kali Yug

Many people doubt whether God or the Supreme power exists in this Kali Yug or not. The answer is ‘yes’. Some elderly people say God’s power was in full swing in the Satya Yug. It narrowed down to a small extent in the Tretaya Yug. It further reduced in the dwapara Yug. And in the ongoing Kali Yug there is hardly any power of God. Even I know about some societies which prove – there is nothing called God; everything is just science. But there are many instances for which science does not have an answer. Why the lights are naturally burn in the Jwala Devi temple days and nights? How people know about Veda even in this twenty first century? Why man is still mortal despite the latest technology? In this article I would like to establish another truth regarding presence of the Supreme power even in this Kali Yug.

Yesterday I watched an episode of Amar Chitra Katha in TV. Tales from mythology are the subject of Amar Chitra Katha. The tale I watched was as follows:

Once two devas visited Lord Vishnu’s abode in the milk ocean (Khir Sagar) and found Him sleeping. They got astonished about how the God, who brings up the creation, can sleep. Anyway, when they were about to leave the place Lord Brahma arrived. He too found Lord Vishnu sleeping and waited for a while when He awoke. But till then Brahma was angry because He was not welcome properly. He wanted an answer about the disrespect and in return Lord Vishnu replied that He does not deserve the same. Soon the two Gods were in fight to decide who is mightier. Seeing the creator and operator of the universe in fight the two devas left the place to approach Lord Shiva to intervene. When Brahma and Vishnu were applying their weapons to each other in the space a gigantic beam of fire intervened. Now, Brahma decided to find the upper end of the huge fire beam and Vishnu went to find the lower end. Both of them measured thousands of light years but in vain. Yet, Brahma found a lady named Ketaki (a flower) who requested to stop the fight. Brahma agreed but with the condition that she will present herself as a witness before Lord Vishnu and state that Brahma found the upper cap. She did accordingly. Now, Lord Shiva emerged out of the fire beam and conveyed His dissatisfaction on the quarrel between the two Gods of the trinity. In between Vishnu had already realized that He should not have fought. He got down from His carrier Garuda and expressed sorry for His deed with joint palms but Brahma did nothing. Finally, Lord Shiva announced the verdict. He said, “Ketaki (flower) will no more be used in the worship of Lord Shiva and no people will worship Lord Brahma.”

In today’s time we have seen plenty of temples dedicated to different Gods, but have you seen a Brahma temple? I don’t think there is a Brahma temple anywhere. In Ranipur Jharial of Odisha, in the middle of the Chausathi Yogini temple an idol is there, which some people believe as the statue of Lord Brahma. But there is no solid evidence to its support. Now, one can argue it is just a tale, which is a fiction. I accept. But in this twenty first century when people set up a lot of temples to worship different Gods, why no one does build a Brahma temple? Because it is due to the curse of Lord Shiva narrated in the tale. And so it is proved that even in this Kali Yug the Supreme power exists very well.

Gupteswar cave shrine in Koraput

Koraput in southern Orissa is blessed with natural resources, picturesque landscapes, lush green hills and a plethora of caves. One of these caves houses lord Gupteswar. Named after Lord Gupteswar, an incarnation of Lord Shiva, one can witness a gigantic Shiva Linga in the cave. People pay visit and worship the Linga, Lord Gupteswar. Since the Linga is in a secret place (secret means gupta in Odia language) the lord is called Gupteswar (Ishwar is God; the God at a secret place) which is believed to be growing in size over the years. Besides the Linga, there are other attractions in and around this limestone cave that lure visitors.

Lord Gupteswar in Koraput Photo: Suryanarayan Panda

Legend

As per mythology, Gupteswar was first discovered by Lord Rama when he was roaming in the Dandakaranya forest along with Sita and Lakshman during his fourteen year hermitage. But, if historical evidence is anything to go by, the place was discovered by a tribal hunter in the 19th century, after which the tribal people of the area started worshipping Lord Gupteswar.

Location

The way leading to Gupteswar

The Gupteshwar cave is situated about 55 km away from Jeypore, the nearby town in Koraput district, 12 km away from Ramgiri junction, 34 km from Boipariguda and 43 km from the Patraput Bridge. The cave is in the Ramgiri forest range.

Popularly known as ‘Gupta Kedar’, Gupteswar is a natural cave with stalagmites. The shrine is called ‘Gupteswar’, which means the ‘Hidden God’. One can reach the Linga by climbing the 200 steps. There are champak trees by the side of the steps. The entrance to the cave is about 3 metres wide and 2 metres high.

There are also several other caves nearby. Inside the second cave there is a large stalactite. People worship it as the udder of God Kamadhenu (the divine cow described in mythology) and wait under it with outstretched palms to catch drops of water that fall only at long intervals.

Tips for visitors

Carry a powerful torchlight with you. It is better if each member of your team carries torchlights. There are local kids who will show you the different formations inside the caves for a meager Rs 10. The Gupteswar cave is quite long and you need to hire an expert guide to explore it. You’d have to climb around 170 steps to reach the entrance to the cave.

How to reach

Entrance to the cave

There is no direct public transport available to reach Gupteswar. So, you have to hire vehicles from Jeypore. After travelling 12 km from Jeypore you will have to cross the Patraput Bridge. After crossing the bridge, you will reach a Y junction. The straight road from there will lead you to Gupteswar. Before reaching Gupteswar, there is a tradition of offering a branch of leaves in the local temple (the reigning deity of which is Goddess Dalkhae) for a safe journey. There is no night stay facility nearby. Only a tourist guesthouse of Orissa tourism located nearby but that too is not functioning for long.  

What the locals say:

Suryanarayan Panda

The place is located amidst thick Sal forests. Due to its traditional association with the Ramayana, the place has become a centre of pilgrimage in the neighbouring tracts of Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Although it does not have any archaeological relic the giant Shiva Linga rising to a height of six feet within a roughly circular chamber has become the main centre of attraction. The Linga is 10 feet in circumference. Another interesting sight is the cave from where water drops fall, which is popularly regarded as the udder of Kamadhenu.

Pritidhara Samal

As per legend, Lord Rama had worshipped the Linga in Gupteswar in the mythological age. But in the modern age a tribal man from the Durua caste first discovered the Linga and intimated the then King of Jeypore Maharaja Vikram Dev. The king arranged for worship. The Duruas first used to worship in the shrine. But a few years back Brahmins demanded the right to worship and a conflict erupted. A temporary solution was struck, but the tussle is still continuing. The road leading to Gupteswar is in a deplorable state. If the government takes necessary steps to improve facilities, Gupteswar can be an important tourist attraction in the state. The serene Sabari River flows nearby and the atmosphere is heart-touching. Also, deforestation has taken a heavy toll and no step has been taken to restore the scenic beauty of the place. There is no sophisticated eatery nearby, although there are small hotels that offer hygienic food to the visitors.

Nrusingha Behera

Koraput district is like Shimla. Unfortunately, many Oriyas do not know this. Gupteswar is a unique tourist destination. One can only feel the effect only after entering in to the cave. The giant Shiva Linga is the centerpiece of attraction. People suffering from incurable diseases come here to worship the God and stay back for months in the hope of getting cured. The caves apart, strolling by the riverside is also a great experience. The caves are more or less like the Bora caves in the Orissa-Andhra border.

Photos: Suryanarayan Panda

Jaykara Sherawali da – Bol sache darwar ki jay

Baishno Devi Maa

Devotees of Baishno Mata must have heard the slogan ‘Jaykara Sherawali da’ in ‘jagaratas’, to which every one present there answer together, ‘Bol sache darwar ki jay’ in loud and clear voice. It is a popular slogan and known to most of the devotees. In case anybody stranger to it, here is the explanation.

Jaykara means praising someone for His/Her good deed in loud voice. In this contest the ‘jaykara’ is meant for Durga Maa, who use to sit on a lion (lion is called sher in Hindi and Sherawali means the lady, who is the mistress of lion). The word ‘da’ in punjabi means ‘ka’ in Hindi which means ‘of’ in English. The slogan is heard in Baishno Devi, the abode of Baishno Mata. And since this place is dominated by Punjabi population, the words related to the Goddess are also in their language. When someone asks the other devotees to praise the mother Goddess with ‘jaykara Sherawali da’, then others should shout ‘bol sache darwar ki jay’ raising their two hands. Raising the hands symbolizes surrender. If we will surrender ourselves completely to the God with raising hands then only She/He will take care of us. Recall, till the moment Draupadi was trying to save her covering her hands the God did not came. But once she left everything on God and prayed Lord Krishna with raising hands, at once the lord tood incarnation as sarees and the strong couldn't pull her saree with his best effort.

Now come to what ‘Bol Sache Darwar Ki jay’ means. Darwar is the court of the king where every subject gets justice. Goddess Durga or Baishno Devi, who is the mistress and ruler of the universe also provides justice in Her ‘darwar’ or court. And the worldly court of justice may punish an innocent and leave a wrongdoer, but the Goddesses’ court is always true. It always offers the deserving prize or punishment. Hence devotees love to prasie about the greatness of the mother Goddess uttering ‘Bol Sache Darwar Ki Jay’ in loud voice. I have heard, Goddess Baishno Devi loves to hear the slogan from Her devotees and in return blesses them.