Salabega lived in the first half of the seventeenth century. He was born c1607-1608. He was the son of the Mughal subedar Lalbeg who was briefly in charge of Orissa at Cuttack in the early 17th century. On one of his expeditions to Puri, he was overcome with passion looking at the beauty of a Brahmin widow returning from her bath at Dandamukundapur and forcibly abducted her. Salabega was later born to this widow. It is believed that the poet suffered from some incurable ailment and through prayer to Lord Jagannatha, as advised by his mother, he was miraculously cured. Soon thereafter, he seems to have seen developed disinterest in worldly matters and spent his time in singing praise of the Lord.
Salabega, being the son of a Muslim, was denied entry into the temple but his deep devotion was answered by his dear Lord in
his manifestation as Patitapabana inside the Singhadwara. He was always eager to witness the Rath Yatra so he could get a glimpse of his Dark Darling. Once he was held up on way while returning from Vrindavan during the festival period. Salabega prayed earnestly to the Lord that he should wait for him on the Nandighosha chariot till he reached the Bada Danda so that he would not miss the opportunity of seeing his Lord. The Lord waited there and gave a darshan to Salabega, his dear devotee on the Bada Danda, near Balagandi. The poet is supposed to have been buried at this site and a small memorial stands here even today. Every year the chariot of Lord Jagannatha stops here for a while in memory of this tender relation of the poet and his ishta devata, Lord Jagannatha.
Salabega composed numerous devotional songs. Most of his compositions are prayers and hymns to Lord Jagannatha and Krishna. He also authored songs in praise of Shiva, the Mother goddess and some incorporating mystic thoughts, particularly those conceiving the divine as void. Many of his songs, deal with the Krishna Leela, as given in the Srimad Bhagabat and various Puranas. A good number of these deal with the romantic dalliance of Krishna with the Gopi maidens and Radha, while a few are inspired by the vatsalya rasa, the sweet motherly feeling of Yasoda for child Krishna.
Although the poet was denied entry into the temple, his descriptions of the inner compound and the sanctum are among the most detailed and accurate in the devotional literature of Orissa. His song “Ahe Neelagiri..” is perhaps the best description of Bedha Parikrama or the prescribed circumambulation of the Srimandira. Many of the historical events of the period are recounted in his songs. The poet refers, with deep anguish, to the depredations of the marauders in their attacks on Puri and the repeated attempts to loot and desecrate the Srimandira. These frequently necessitated shifting the deities outside the main sanctum and the poet captures the situation of one such occasion with graphic details in the song “Kene gheni jauchha Jagannathanku…”
Puri the spiritual capital of the State is popularly known as Shree Khetra. ‘Shree’ means ‘Mahalaxmi’, the wife of Lord Jagannatha and ‘Khetra’ means land / kingdom. So Puri is the kingdom of Mahalaxmi who happens to be the goddess of wealth, beauty and prosperity.
Puri the spiritual capital of the state of Odisha and popularly known as Jagannath Puri, Nilachala, Nilagiri, Niladri, Purusottam Khetra, Srikhetra, Shreekhetra and Sankha Khetra, occupies a significant place in the map of tourism and field of spiritualism of the country for its magnificent culture and striking beauty. Puri, the sacred place of pilgrimage, is situated on the sea i.e. Bay of Bengal. The Khetra,according to the sanskrit writers,extends from the temple of Lokanath on the west to that of Vilveswar on the east and from the eternal sea to the Matianadi,a small stream. But as two krosas out of the five have been, it is said, engulfed by the sea, the remainder very closely represents the present extent.This sacred tract is said to resemble in shape a conch-shell, sankha, which is one of the four ayudhas of Vishnu, others being chakra (discus), gada (mace) and padma (lotus). Puri is known as Sankhakhetra and Bhubaneswar, Jajpur and Konark are respectively called Chakrakhetra, Gadakhetra, and Padmakhetra. In ancient Indian religion and learning were very closely intermingled and each Dham was also a centre of learning, culture and religion. Puri, being one of the four Dhams of the country, was not an exception to this traditional view. Voluminous works in sanskrit containing accounts of ancient Indian history, culture, mythology, philosophy, religion etc. present detailed picture of the origin of Lord Jagannath and Jagannath Puri. Prominent among the Puranas are the Skanda Purana, the Mastya Purana, the Brahma Purana, the Bamadeva Samhita, the Niladri Mahodaya, even the Ramayana and the Mahabharata describe the importance of Lord Jagannath and Jagannath Dham.
Puri has a salubrious climate and attracts tourists from all over the world round the year and particularly during the summer months.It has one of the finest beaches of the world and is the home of numerous artisans and craftmen who produce rare and exquisite handicrafts of a large variety.
Apart from the two main attractions i.e. Temple of Jagannath and Sea Beach, other places of cultural importance and scenic beauty, which arrest the attention of the tourists.
From all these above mentioned angles, spiritual, cultural, historical and philosophical, Puri, no doubt is a worth-visiting place, which always stands committed to Welcome the tourists not only from India but abroad, irrespective of caste, creed and color, through its everflying Patitapabana Flag and everflowing waves of the Bay of Bengal.
Narasimha is an avatar of the Lord Vishnu. Narasimha is often visualized as half-man/half-lion, having a human-like torso and lower body, with a lion-like face and claws. This image is widely worshipped in deity form by a significant number of Vaishnava groups. He is known primarily as the ‘Great Protector’ who specifically defends and protects his devotees in times of need. Vishnu is believed to have taken the Narsimha avatar to destroy the demon king Hiranyakashipu. Narasimha holds an important position in the Jagannath Cult. Narasimha is the guardian Deity of the temple and all the performances, from cooking to puja. Lord Narasimha is described as the protector of Lord Jagannath, and the protector of Nandighosha chariot. It is customary that a wooden image of Narasimha after due ritual (rathpratistha), completed by the deula-purohit, the only strotriya Brahmin servitor of the temple, is to be brought with proper procession with bijekahali and other vadyas to the chariots (Hanuman and Bhubaneswari for Balabhadra and Subhadra, respectively).
In the Nabakalebara the role of Lord Narasimha is indispensable. The new images of the Lords are to be consecrated in presence of Narasimha and trees selected for image making are to be cut also in the presence of Narasimha. These rituals are called as banajaga. In all these above rituals, Mantraraja, the Mantra of Lord Narasimha, are only to be recited by the Brahmins. Yajna- Narasimha is associated in the process of the journey of the logs of the Lord. Narasimha is one of the Vesas of the Lord on the 13th day of the month of Kartik and Lord Jagannatha is worshipped as Narasimha on the 14th day of lunar fortnight of the month of Vaishakha (Narasimha Chaturdasi). The initiation by a new servitor (sadhibandha) starts with worshipping the Khamba Narasimha (image of Laxmi-Narasimha) on the first pillar of Jagamohana.
This is exclusively an agricultural festival held on the third day of the Hindu year. On this day the farmer ceremonially starts sowing seeds in the field, especially paddy. Early in the morning, farmers in their respective homes arrange the materials for the ritual. After taking ablution in a river or tank they wear new clothes and carry the seeds in new baskets, In the field offerings are made to Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth which the farmers do it themselves. Then they sow seeds ceremonially praying the Goddess for a rich bumper crop. In the evening feasts (strictly vegetarian) are arranged in respective homes. In western Orissa this festival is called ‘Muthi Chhuan’. Eating of green-leaves (Shag) is forbidden for the day. It is observed by all farmers irrespective of caste and creed. The famous Chandan Yatra of Lord Jagannath which is observed in various other shrines of Orissa starts from this day. Moreover, from this auspicious day the carpenters start building the cars (Ratha) of Lord Jagannath, Balabadra and Subhadra.
On this day women also worship ‘Sasthi Debi’ popularly called ‘Sathi Duchhei’. The Goddess is said to be the guardian of children. She has also the power to bestow the women with children. Therefore, she is propitiated with great devotion.
Religious scriptures testify that Ganga, the sacred river of India landed on the Earth on this day from Heaven. She is the perennial source of water which is the need for agriculture. Therefore, this auspicious day was chosen to start sowing seeds.
The supreme festival in Puri is the Rath yatra or Car Festival, of all the fiestas of the year, which honors the voyage of Krishna from Gokul to Mathura. According to Hindu legends, Krishna, the ninth personification of Vishnu, was the eight son of Basudeva and his wife Devaki. It had been predicted that a son of theirs would slay Kansa, the fiend King of Mathura, who personifies the principal of evil. Kansa, therefore, locked up Basudeva and his wife, and slew their first six sons; Balarama, the seventh, was abstracted from Devaki’s womb, moved to that of Rohini, another wife of Basudeva, and so saved. After the birth of Krishna, the father runaway from Mathura with the child and, crossing the Jamuna, gave the infant Krishna to the care of the herdsman ruler, Nanda of Vraja. In Gokul Krishna rose up to adulthood. After sometime, Kansa took notice of of him and sent an envoy to carry him and his brother to Mathura. The brothers drove in their chariot gloriously to Mathura, where Krishna slain Kansa and ruled in his stead.
The chapter in the life of Krishna is celebrated by the Rath yatra, which happens in June or July annually. At this time, the descriptions of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra are detached from the temple and taken in great chariots to the garden house (Gundicha-bari) the length of the Bara Danda road, which is about a mile and a half long. The gods stay in the car at night, and are taken out next dawn and positioned in the temple. They stay there for a week and are then once more placed in to the cars taken back to the holy place, thus observing the come back journey of Krishna. The law is that the entire festival should last 9 days, letting a day for the journey to the Gundicha- bari, a day for the return journey, and 7days for the stay there; but when put into practice it lasts much longer, the return trip every so often taking countless days.
Debasnana Purnima or Snana Yatra is exclusively a festival of Lord Jagannath and is said to be one of the oldest. According to Skanda Purana when Raja Indradyumna installed the wooden deities he arranged this bathing ceremony. This day is considered to be the birth-day of Lord Jagannath. Held in the full-moon day of the month of Jyestha this festival is also simultaneously held in all other imprortant shrines of Odisha. However, the festival being most elaborate and important at Puri, it attracts thousands of visitors and piligrims from all over the country. ‘Niladri Mohadaya’, a religious text written in Odisha records the rituals of the festival. Sriharsa in his ‘naisadhiya Charita’ (XV. 89) also refers to this festival of Purusottama. This bathing ceremony has a speciality. As this festival does not find mention in the early religious texts, it is believed to be a tribal ceremony which later crept into the Hindu rites. Jagannath in its early form was being worshipped as Nilamadhaba by a Savara chief called Viswabasu. Till now it is the Daitas and Savaras (tribals) who have the exclusive right to conduct the festival. The tribals called Saoras (of southern Odisha) still perform a rite to bath their deities ceremonially on the last day of the month of Jyestha. For this they collect water from remote jungles where it remains untouched even by the shadow of the animals. Most probably when Jagannath was a Savara God, this festival of the Savaras who tended Him was accepted by the Hindus.
