dhabaleswar-temple

Dhabaleswar Temple – Where the Lord turned Black to White

Dhabaleswar Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is situated at a distance of 27km from the city of Cuttack. This place is famous for Lord Shiva and mainly for the hanging bridge and in Odia called Jhula Polo. The hanging bridge connects Mancheswara to Dhabaleswar. Before the construction of this bridge people used to cross the river by boats.

Mythology behind the Name of the Temple

The name Dhabaleswar is associated to a miracle performed by Lord Shiva. Once a thief stole a black bull calf from a village and scrammed to a Shiva temple. He hid himself with the calf in the shrine and the angry crowd waited outside the temple. The thief prayed to Lord Shiva to rescue him from the crowd. Then the Lord appeared as a Sanyassi before the crowd and brought the calf outside to expel the doubts of the crowd. The calf turned out to be white, seeing which the crowd let the thief go. The sanyassi disappeared and the thief realized who had come to his aid. From that day the temple is known as Dhabaleswar as Lord Shiva turned the calf black to white.

Famous Festivals Celebrated At Dhabaleswar Temple

A big fair is celebrated on the shukla paksha chaturdashi of the month Kartika called Bada-osha. During Panchuka and Bada-osha more than 10 lakh devotees visit the shrine. Another big festival celebrated in this shrine is Shivaratri. Various functions like Shivaratri, Pausha purnima, Dola purnima and Kartika purnima are celebrated here.

Other places of Interest

Chhatia: Though locals call it Chhatiabata, it is the sacred place of pilgrimage as it is a shrine of Lord Jagannath.

Chandikhol: A well-known picnic destination surrounded by green hills and perennial streams, the Mahavinayak temple and ashram of Baba Bhairavananda are two major crowd pullers.

How to Reach Dhabaleswar

By Air: Nearby airport is Bhubaneswar airport.

By Rail: Cuttack Railway Station is the nearest railway station.

By Road: You can hire a taxi from Cuttack to Dhabaleswar.

Best Time to Visit Dhabaleswar

Best time to visit Dhabaleswar Temple is in the month of October and November as all the famous festivals are celebrated during these months.