Dhabaleswara temple is one of the most reputed temples in India & famous for Lord Mahadev (Shiva). The name Dhabaleswar, Dhabala means White and Eeshwar means, God. This temple is situated in the middle of the Mahanadi river. Bada Osha is one of the important festivals in Odisha that mainly celebrated in this temple. In the local Odia language, ' Bada' means 'big', and 'Osha' means 'Brata' or 'fasting'.
The Lord Dhabaleshwar temple is located on an island of the river Mahanadi. Odisha’s first ever foot hang bridge about 245 feet long is connecting the exotic island with mancheswar which is the major way to reach the temple. It is situated at a distance of 35 km from the city of Cuttack and 15 km from Bhubaneswar.
The Reason Behind why Lord Shiva is called Dhabaleshwar Here!
As per mythological information, Initially, there was an old temple of Lord Shiva. Once a villager promised to Load Shiva that if he will get a bull calf he will donate it to that temple, soon his wish fulfilled with a black bull calf. But after got that black bull calf, he broke his promise due to greed. After a few days, a thief stole that black bull calf from the village and hid in the temple to escape the wrath of the villagers. The thief fervently prayed to the presiding deity Lord Shiva to save himself. Lord Shiva appeared as a Sage in front of the villagers and asked for the reason for their anger, on being appraised of the situation, the Sage (Lord Shiva) told the villagers that the calf inside a temple isn’t a black bull calf but a white bull calf. Then the Sage brought the calf outside to dispel their doubts. The calf turned out to be white, seeing which the crowd let the thief go.
After the villagers were satisfied with his explanation, the Sage vanished, Meanwhile, the thief realized the presence of the lord and accepted his mistake, and vowed to serve the rest of his life in service of Lord Shiva.
The act of turning a black calf to white caused Lord Shiva to be also known as Dhabaleswara.
Present Day Temple History
Though the temple architecture seems to be of recent origin, the artifacts show the creations of the 10th century AD. The present-day temple was constructed by King Bir Kishore of Khurda around 1232 AD.
It is said that once King Bir Kishore set out on a hunt. During the course of the hunt, he discovered the original temple which was in a derelict state and the king ordered the renovation of the temple.
Bada Osha
Here 'Bada Osha' is considered the most auspicious of festivals. The rituals of this Osha started from the beginning of Kartika Sukla Pratipada. i.e. the next day of Diwali Amavasya. Both men and women do fasts in this festival together. In other festivals, only one person used to fast, but it's joint fasting.
This Osha (Fasting) is observed during Kartika Month (end of October or in November). According to the Odia calendar, this festival is observed on the Kartika Sukla Chaturdasi (the fourteenth day of the bright fortnight of Kartika Month). The day-long fast culminates in prayers and offerings to Lord Shiva and the prasad offered on this day is called Gaja Pitha. This pitha is mainly white in color.
