Dhabaleswar

Dhabalesvara Siva Temple

Dhabalesvara Siva Temple Location in Orissa
Geography
Coordinates	20°11′54″N 85°50′41″E / 20.19833°N 85.84472°E / 20.19833; 85.84472Coordinates: 20°11′54″N 85°50′41″E / 20.19833°N 85.84472°E / 20.19833; 85.84472
Country	India
State	Orissa
Locale	Bhubaneswar
Elevation	69 m (226 ft)
Culture
Primary deity	Shiva
Architecture
Architectural styles	Kalingan Style (Kalinga Architecture)
History and governance
Date built	14th century A.D.

Dhabaleswar Temple is dedicated to the worship of Lord Shiva. It is situated at a distance of 37 kilometers from the city of Cuttack, in the exotic island of Dhabaleshwar. It is one of the famous weekend tours from Cuttack. The temple, located in an island on River Mahanadi, is embellished with stone carvings that date back to the early 10th and 11th century. The serene ambiance, in which the temple is situated, inspires spiritual feeling among one and all.

Mythological Origin

The name Dhabaleswar ( Dhabala or White + Eeswar or God ) is attributed to a miracle performed by Lord Shiva. Once a thief stole a black bull calf from a village and fled to a Shiva temple. He hid himself with the calf in the sanctum while the angry crowd waited outside the temple. The crowd could clearly hear the calf calling out. The thief prayed fervently to Lord Shiva to deliver him from the crowd. Taking pity on him, the Lord appeared as a Sanyassin before the crowd and asked them the cause of their agitation On being told that they suspected the thief of hiding in the sanctum along with the black calf, the sanyassin brought the calf outside to dispel their doubts. The calf turned out to be white, seeing which the crowd let the thief go. The sanyassin disappeared and the thief realized who had come to his aid. He confessed and apologized to the crowd. He took a vow to spend the rest of his life in the service of the Lord. The act of turning a black calf to white caused Lord Shiva to be also known as Dhabaleswara.

Present Day Temple

The present temple structure was constructed by Bir Kishor, ruler of Khurda. It is said that once he set out on a hunt with his personal bodyguards and attendants. During the course of the hunt, they discovered the original temple which was in a derelict state.The king ordered the renovation of the temple, granted an area of land measuring 314 maana .He also entrusted the care and service of the temple to one Mali.The family of Mali later on found the village of Malisahi which falls on the way to the temple. This was done in 1153 of the Saka era which would be 1232 AD. The present day temple was renovated and repaired by Bhubaneswar Development Authority. Purnachandra Panda is the chief priest of the temple.

Reaching the Temple

The temple can be reached by bus via Chowdwar, Nuapatana, Mancheshwar. it can also be reached via Bidanasi through boating on river Mahanadi. Odisha's first ever foot hang bridge is connecting the exotic island with mancheswar which is the major way to reach the temple.

Being situated on an island, the temple can be reached by boats leaving from ferries in or near Cuttack. There is also a foot bridge which devotees or visitors can use on paying a nominal fee. People from the nearby villages have set up a number of shops leading to the bridge and the temple's entrance.

Attractions

A big fair is held on the shukla paksha chaturdashi of the month Kartika called Bada-osha
Shivaratri
Various functions like Shivaratri, Pausha purnima, Dola purnima, and Kartika purnima are celebrated here

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hindu temples of Orissa.

This section of yours about DHABALESWAR TEMPLE is wrong because the one temple described over here is at Dhauli which is approx 11 km by road South of Bhubaneswar en route to PURI, but the other famous DHABALESWAR TEMPLE is located in an island within river Mahanadi and is approx 57 km by road North of Bhubaneswar via Cuttack & Choudwar. This information may be incorporated else the information in your section is misleading. There is a wirerope hanging footbridge which accesses to the temple.

External links

1. http://www#orissatourism#gov#in/new/wsdhabal#html Dhabaleshwara,the living god of Cuttack#
2. http://travel#sulekha#com/dhabaleswar-island#htm Lord Shiva,who made one black bullock into white one#
Sculptures of Dhabalesvara
report on Archaeological survey
Book: Lesser Known Monuments of Bhubaneswar by Dr. Sadasiba Pradhan #ISBN 81-7375-164-1#

Shiva temples in Odisha

Shiva Temples	Astasambhu, Bhubaneswar Ajaikapada Bhairava Akhandalamani Annakoteshvara Baneswara Temple, Balasore Bhuvaneshwar Temple, Boudh Brahmeswara Bhimashankar Chandaneswar Chateshwar Temple Dhabaleswar Gupteswar Cave Godhaneswar temple Indralath Temple Jaleswar Kapilash Kapilesvara Kedareswar Kosaleswara Ladoo Baba Temple Leaning Temple, Huma Lingaraja Lokanatha Temple Markandeshwar Temple Mukteswar Murga Mahadeva Shrine Nilakantheswar Temple Paikapada shiva temple Panchalingeshwar Parsurameswar Rajarani Temple Rameshwar Deula Simhanath Temple Subarnameru Yameshwar

Hindu temples in Odisha Shakti temples in Odisha Temples in Bhubaneswar

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