Sarala Temple
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Sarala Temple is a Hindu temple in the district of Jagatsinghpur, Orissa, India. The temple is accessible by road from Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack and Paradeep. The nearest airport is Bhubaneshwar, which is approximately 80 km, and is well connected by road. The nearest railway station is Cuttack, however there is a small 7 Pessenger Halt at Sarala Road, near Tentulipada. The temple can be reached via Jagatsinghpur, or Tarapur by road, from Cuttack.
Maa Sarala - a Hindu goddess patronizes the cultures of Vaishanivism and Shaivaism. Rarely one finds the use of Bella Patra and Tulasi patra in any temple, as they are symbols of two distinct Hindu culture.
There is also some controversy regarding the deity, where it is suspected that the deity may be a Buddhist tantric figure, as she holds a book and hand bell – known Buddhist symbols. It is said that Huen Tsang, the Chinese pilgrim visited Orissa and he had taken a ship from Chilitolo Port to Sri lanka, which historians attribute to modern day Tirtol. This may be a possibility as geography shows that Paradip, was an island and the land in and around Kujanga was under water - Sea/River. There is Geographic evidence to support this. To be at a safer side, we may conclude that Sarala represents the Shiva-Shakti cult which evolved from an amalgamation of Shaivism (worship of Shiva), Shaktism (worship of the Mother Goddess) and the Vajrayana, or Tantric form of Mahayana Buddhism.
Goddess Sarala, is known as Bak Devi goddess of Knowledge and Wisdom. It is well documented that [Sarala Das] - a small time farmer and part-time Oriya Paika, was an ardent follower of the goddess and it was after her blessings that Sidheshwar Parida became Sarala Das, the author of Oriya Mahavharata.
Folklore goes back to thousands of years, to the age of Parsurama. It is said that it was God Parsurama who had carved the goddess with the tip of his arrow. Even this temple survived the ravages of Kala Chand (legendary Kala Pahada). The new temple- 500 years old - was bulit by the Raja of Manijanga. The remnants of the old temple is not visible, but folklore goes that it was at Badasarol, a please where the Ganesha Temple (Nanda Deula, now renovated) stands as witness, where the old temple once stood.
There are so many festivals that are celebrated in the temple. However, the major ones are: Parbana, Pana Sankaranti, Dolo Purnima, Chandan Jatra. The people of Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur and Cuttack district are so attached to the god that every year they make it a point to visit the temple - at least once.
