Langaleswar: Langaleswar temple is one of the ancient temples of Balasore. Forty kilometres far from the district headquarters and 255 km far from Bhubaneswar, the temple is situated at Langaleswar village under Baliapal block in Balasore district.
Though everyone is familiar with Lord Shiva being worshiped here, the temple’s location and the associated mythology are the USPs which entice devotees and visitors to it.
According to folklore— in Dwapar Yuga when the Pandavas were in their 12-year exile (Vanavas), the second-born Pandava Bhima discovered the Shiva temple here. As there was no soul to be sighted nearby the area, the Pandavas struggled for two-square meals.
As Bhima had discovered the Shiva temple, he sat in meditation and prayed to the Lord. Seeing Bhima’s devotion, Goddess Parvati requested her husband to covert the surrounding desert-like area into a paddy field. Now the question arose: who shall plough the land and thus when Lord Shiva sought help on that from Goddess Parvati, she transformed the Lord’s trishul into a plough. And, thus the story says— to feed the Pandavas, Lord Shiva ploughed about 1,600 acres of land and the place got the name of ‘Solashapentha’.
It is believed that during the harvest season, Parvati called Bhima and asked him to do the task. But Bhima could harvest only two-and-a-half handful of paddy. This incensed the Lord who then set the paddy field on fire. Locals believe that the field kept burning for years.
A worried Parvati then ordered Lord Indra to douse the flames and the fire was controlled. It was seen that the paddy colours were turned into black, red and yellow. Locals believe that it was since then that the paddy developed various breeds. After the incident, Parvati blessed the area and created habitation and infrastructure there. In memory of the same, a wooden plough is worshipped in the temple.
Langaleswar is famous for Shaivism. The location of the temple along river Parvati offers a scenic beauty and compliments to the spiritual side of the area.
The state government declared the temple as a tourist place in 2010 but it has not received the help or importance which it was promised, lamented locals. Very few may know that this is the only temple in Odisha where the idol of Goddess Parvati is worshiped with the idol of Lord Shiva.