Loknath Temple is one of the best Shiva Temple situated very near to the famous Lord Jagannath Temple of Puri. It is also one of the famous Hindu temple of Odisha. This temple is built in 11th century. There are many interesting things are there in this famous temple of Puri. Read the full article to know all about this and increase your knowledge about the Loknath Temple of Odisha and also you can know how to reach this temple.
History Of Loknath Temple
The temple of Shri Lokanatha is situated at a distance of about 2½ kms to the west of Lord Jagannatha temple of
Puri. This temple is one of the most important Shaiva shrines of
Orissa. As per local people this temple was established by Lord
Ramacandra. From the architectural point of view the temple is not so
important but from the religious point of view, it occupies an important
position in the cultural history of Orissa. The legend says that Lord
Rama on his way to Sri Lanka for searching Sita reached Puri and
sat with a vow to see Siva here. At that time there was a village
(koown as Sabarapalli in local language) nearby. Sabaras (native of that
village) presented him a Lau or Lauka (Pumpkin, one type of vegetable)
looking like a Siva Linga, Lord Rama installed that as the replica of
Siva Linga at that place and prayed Siva to fulfill his desire. From
that day this Siva Linga was called ‘Laukanatha’. It is believed that
the word Lokanatha is a later innovation from the original word
‘Laukanatha’.
The
innermost chamber of the main temple preserves a Shiva linga which is
the presiding deity of the temple. This linga is visible to the devotees
once in every year. The sanctum including the linga is filled with
water throughout the year by a natural fountain. In the night of
Pankoddhar Ekadashi (3 days before the famous Shivaratri festival) all
the water is bailed out and the Shiva Linga becomes visible and
thousands of devotees enable to worship the Lord. According to a local
tradition, people who suffer from incurable diseases come here for
prayer. The flowers, sandal paste, milk, Curd (yoghurt), honey, beetle
leaves, Coconut water, bilva leaves, etc. offered to the God throughout
the year remain decomposed in the water creating a special smell and
taste being medicated as a whole. people take it as Prasad, in order to
be cured from the disese that they suffered for.
The
Lokanatha temple has four parts such as Vimana (Main Temple),
Jagamohana (Entrance Hall), Natamandapa (Dancing Hall) and Bhogamndapa
(Offering Hall). This temple is built in sand stones. The main temple is
about 30 feet from the ground level. Most portions of the main temple
have been covered with marbles, so the detail architectural features of
the main temple are not visible. The outer walls of the main temple
housed images of different Deities. The image of Shiva-Parbati is carved
on the northern side wall. There is image of Lord Kartikeya on the
eastern side wall. The image of four handed Lord Ganesha is carved on
the southern side wall. All these side wall images are housed inside
small temples. Many small temples are there inside the premises of
Lokanatha temple. There is a small temple to the left of the inner
courtyard which preserves images of Surya-Narayana and Candra-Narayana.
The Satya-Narayan temple within the premises preserves images of Vishnu,
Laksmi and several brass idols. On the right side of the entrance to
the inner courtyard you will find a figure of Lord Hanuman. The compound
of the Lokanatha temple is about 10 feet below the road level. When you
enter the lokanatha temple compound by climbing down the stairs from
the main road, you will find a big pond (known as Parvati Sagara in
local language) at your right side. Devotees wash their hands and feets
in this pond before entering into the temple. This pond houses a lot of
fishes. Devotees enjoying a lot by offering foods to these fishes.
Lord
Lokanatha’s representative image is in the Sri Jagannatha temple, known
as Bhandara Lokanatha. He is the guardian deity of the Ratnabhandara
(treasure house) of Sri Jagannatha temple. Lokanatha is associated with Lord Jagannath in several festivals like
Sivaratri, Candan Yatra and Sital Sasthi. The festival of Shivaratri is
observed in the temple of Lokanatha with great devotion. A meeting of
Hari and Hara (Siva and Vishnu) takes place on the day. On the
Mahashivaratri lot of devotees arrive near the temple to offer their
prayer to Lord Lokanatha with great devotion.
Interesting Myth of the Loknath Temple
Like most of the other temples in India which are associated with myths and legends, so is this temple, associated with a legend. According to this, the lingam of this temple was established by Lord Ram. Initially, it was made of a pumpkin, better known as lauka in India.How To Reach Lokanath Temple
As Puri is one of the developed city in Odisha, So there are lots of transport facility available to reach Loknath Temple of Odisha and you can get numbers of Hotels (From Economy Class to Five Star) are there. So this place will be one of the best place in Odisha.|
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