Narayana Gosain Temple

Lord Narayan Gosain Temple is situated at Singhapur Village near Rasulpur in Jajpur district of Orissa which is dedicated to Narayana.

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Rituals

The idol of Lord Narayana Gosain is kept underwater, except for three days in a year. People in large number gather on these three days to have a glimpse of the God. And the unique annual ceremony is known as Singhapur yatra. This has been a practice here for more than four centuries.The main idol of Lord Narayan Gosain remains in a pond near the temple, Madhutirtha Kshetra, dedicated to Him. The idol is brought out on Pana Sankranti day (March – April) for three days and on the fourth day the idol is again immersed in the pond.

This is a unique tradition in the country. According to the tradition, first the King of Madhupurgarh comes and offers prayers to the Lord on the bank of the pond as Narayan Gosain is the presiding deity of the king. After the King’s puja and prayer, thousands of devotees take part in the ceremony every year, in which the idol is taken out from under the water and worshipped in the nearby temple. Since 2007, the coronated Queen of Madhupurgarh, Rani Aparna Dhir Singh has been offering the seva puja and pushpanjali to Narayana Gosain.

History

In the 16th century, Kalapahada, a Muslim invader, after destroying numerous temples and Hindu idols reached the region. The then King of Madhupurgarh, to save the idol from Kalapahad, hid it in the pond. A few years later, Lord Narayana Gosain appeared in the dream of the King and asked him to take the idol out of the pond and worship and then to be kept back safely. This happened during Mahavisuva Sankranti or Pana Sankranti period.Since then annually, the idol is taken out of the pond on the Pana Sankranti day and worshiped for three days.

Transport

It is just situated within 20km from NH5 running between Chennai and Howrah.Buses running from Bhubaneswar to Jajpur stop at Jaraka and Kuakhia stoppage,from there one can find suitable transport.Nearest railhaid is Jajpur Keonjhar Road or Byasanagar.

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