Rayagada: A temple in Odisha celebrates Maha Shivaratri one day before the rest of the country.
This year while all the famous shrines including Kedarnath temple Uttarakhand, Shomnath temple in Gujarat, Kashi Vishwanath temple in Uttar Pradesh and Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneswar are celebrating Maha Shivarati Thursday, the shrine in question has already observed the occasion Wednesday.
The temple in question is Mahendragiri temple, a famous Shaivite shrine located at the Mahendra terrain on the border of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh in Rayagada block of Gajapati district. While it is 60 kilometres from Paralakhemundi, devotees have to trek 6 kilometres to reach atop the hill where the shrine is located.
The temple is said to have links with Satya yug, Treta yug and Dwapar yug. As per legend, in Satya yug, Mahadev did ‘tapasya’ in this hill and also established Gokarneswar to absolve off the sin of cow slaughter.
In Treta yug, Parshuram chose this place for meditation. It is also widely believed that the hill is the one from where Lord Hanuman leapt towards Lanka.
Similarly, in Dwapar yug the Pandavas stayed in this hill during their exile (Agyaat Vaas).
There are temples dedicated to Yudhistir, Bhim, Arjun, Nakul, Sahadev and mother Kunti here.
The main attraction for visitors and devotees is the Bhim temple. Nineteen huge stones, each weighing approximately 100 to 150 quintals, form this temple. The architectural design of this temple is similar to the one seen in Buddhist temples. According to legend, Bhim, who was the most powerful, placed the stones to erect the temple.
The five brothers were supposed to construct the temple in one night. However, they could not finish its construction before day break and so it is believed to be why the temple is kept half constructed.
There are two narrow openings — one at east and the other at west end – used as entrance and exit of the temple.
Another striking feature is that at first look, it often gives the impression that fat people cannot go through these narrow passages. But anybody can easily go through the passages and experience the wondrous architecture.
Devotees and tourists who come to this place hop Mahendraswar, Bhimeswar, Chandreswar, Dharmrajeswar, Arjuneswar, Nakuleswar, Sahadeveswar, Kuberswar and Brahmeswar caves to enjoy their natural beauty.
PNN