27 Friday Temple Visit
வாரம் ஒரு கோவில் தரிசனம்
by S. Subramaniam
Chhatia Bata Sree Jagannath Temple, Cuttack, Odisha
Location
Chhatia Bata Sree Jagannath temple, considered as the second home of Lord Jagannath of Puri, is a temple associated with the Kalki Avatar of Lord Maha Vishnu, and is located in Chhatia village, Jajpur District and lies about 25 Km from Cuttack and 60 Km from Bhubaneswar.
Specialty
This is perhaps the only temple in the world to have an idol of Lord Kalki installed, prayers and Bhog offered to the avatar of Lord Maha Vishnu yet to be incarnated by Him._
Name of the temple
The name of this temple is Chhatia Bata due to the presence of an old Banyan Tree (known as “Bata” in Odia Language) inside the precincts of the temple. It is also the Samadhi Pitha of saint Mahapurusa Hadi Das.
History
Sree Jagannath Temple is believed to be an ancient one. It was built as per the famous old Indian Vastu Shastra. The credit of building the present existing structure goes to King Yayati Keshari (c 922-955 AD) of the Suryavanshi Dynasty of Odisha.
Legend
Jiba Jagata Hoieba Leena
Baishi Pahache Kheliba Meena
A day will come when all living animals and human beings will die and fish (meena) alone will survive and play at the steps of Puri temple.
The above words have been written by the famous saint Mahapurusa Hadi Das in his book Mallika*(Kali Maa written in the reverse order).
It is believed that at the approach of the end of Kali Yuga, when the whole universe will submerge, Lord Jagannath will move from Puri to this temple and as the avatar Kaki (incarnation) of Lord Maha Vishnu he will receive the divine weapon, a 12 feet long sword named Nandaka from heaven (Vaikunta).
It is worth noting here that ~all~ most of the predictions of saint Hadidas, written by him in the book Malika, have come true such as the super cyclone of 1999.
Uniqueness of the temple
The temple houses idols of the three Lords in an interesting manner but in a different serial than we see in Puri. Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra, from left to right signifying a new world order. Besides, there are individual temples for all three of them. You can only see them from the side, not from the front. Lord Balabhadra and Lord Jagannath ride white and black horses respectively, and have hands that hold swords. The swords are said to grow longer with time. You can see Lord Jagannath’s and Devi Subhadra’s feet as well. Interestingly, Lord Balabhadra sits in front of a mirror, so you can stand behind him and see his face in the mirror in the light of a lamp.
Devotees visiting the temple are offered as Mahaprasad, AVADA BHOGA as in Puri Jagannath Temple. Every year the Rathayatra Ceremony is also celebrated in this temple.
Saint Hadidas
Saint Hadidas (1772-1837) is considered to be one of the best spiritual scholars of Odisha. He is credited with writing the famous book Mallika which contains future prophecies, the past and the present activity of the people, the truth of spiritual doctrines.
Born into a low caste family and named Haridas (meaning a devotee of Vishnu) he was humiliated by Brahmins and other upper castes people who used to refer to him as 'Hadi' (a low caste in Odiya). To seek divine knowledge, he undertook meditation under a Banyan tree and ultimately attained Samadhi at the place which is still preserved.
His other spiritual texts include Sankhanavi, Ananta Gupta Gita, Anantagoi, Bhabananabara, Hanumanta Gita, Nila Madhava Gita etc.
Construction work never ceases at the temple
As per an unique tradition and a deeply rooted belief of the locals, construction work at the Chhatia Bata temple keeps going on all round the year. The boundary walls of the temple get plastered over and over again, new brick walls are added, wooden doors and windows are dismantled, refixed and get coloured ceaselessly. This is done with sincere dedication to welcome Lord Jagannath who will assume the Kalki avatar at this temple.
Contacts
Chhatia bata, Chhatia, Jajpur is NH-16,Chhatia, Jajpur 754023.
PHONE : +917077705108 -
Chhatia bata, Chhatia, Jajpur is located at: NH-16,chhatia, Jajpur 754023.
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What is the phone number of Chhatia bata, Chhatia, Jajpur?You can try to dialing this number: +917077705108 -
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