Sakshigopal Temple

Sakshigopal Temple is a medieval temple dedicated to Lord Gopal located in the town of Sakshigopal on the Puri Bhubaneshwar highway in Odisha. The temple is built in the Kalinga style of temple architecture.

Origin of the Temple

It is said that a poor young man of the village, which was named as Sakhigopal later, fell in love with the daughter of the village headman. However being of a higher economical status the headman opposed marriage between this young man and his daughter. The villagers went on a pilgrimage to Kashi including the headman and the young man. The village headman fell ill and was abandoned by fellow villagers. The young man tended to him so well that he soon got well and in gratitude promised his daughter in marriage to the young man. As soon as they returned to the village the headman went back on his promise asking the young man to produce a witness in support of his claim.

Lord Gopal impressed by the young man's devotion agreed to come and bear witness to the promise on one condition that the young man lead the way and he would follow, but the young man must never look back. He led the way to the Lord but near the village was a mound of sand on which as they passed, the man could not hear the Lord's footsteps and turned back. Immediately the Lord turned into a statue of stone rooted to the spot. The villagers were however so impressed that God himself came to back the young man's claim that the youngsters were married off and appointed as the first priests of the temple built in honor of Lord Gopal who came to bear witness known in Sanskrit as Sakshi.

Amla Navami

The Temple is famous for celebrating the annual Amla Navami Festival(Amla=Gooseberry)(Navami=Ninth day in a lunar cycle).The festival is associated with the practice of touching of Radha's feet(Radha was the legendary lover of Lord Krishna).Legend has it that the temple was originally without a statue of Radha.But when a girl named Lakhmi claimed to be the incarnation of Radha,and it is believed that Lord Krishna(Here as Gopal) should not be without his true love Radha,a statue from northern India was installed here.The statue had originally Ghagra and Choli adorned but when it was clad on a traditional Saree of Odisha, the feet of the statue was visible and the priests took it for a holy sign.From that day Amla Navami is celebrated and Hindu pilgrims are allowed inside the temple to touch the Goddess's feet.

Daily Food Offerings[edit]

The food offerings at Sakhigopala temple are made of wheat instead of rice. This is one of exceptional offerings among the worshipping processes of Vishnu temples all over the world, which is called prasad.

References

v t e Hindu temples in Odisha Ganesh Temples Budha Ganesha Temple Siddha Vinayaka Mahavinayak Temple Surya Temples Konark Sun Temple Biranchinarayan Temple, Buguda Biranchinarayan Temple, Palia Vishnu Temples Alarnatha Mandira Anantasaayi Vishnu Temple Ananta Shayana Anantashayana, Saranga Ananta Vasudeva Temple Baladevjew Temple Chakra Narasimha Temple Chhatia Bata Gundicha Temple Jagannath Temple, Dharakote Jagannath Temple, Koraput Jagannath Temple, Nayagarh Jagannath Temple, Puri Khirachora Gopinatha Temple Lakhmi Varaha Temple Madhava Temple Narasimha Temple Narayana Gosain Temple Nilamadhav Temple Nrusinghanath Temple Odogaon Raghunath Temple Patali Srikhetra Ram Mandir, Bhubaneswar Sakshigopal Temple Varahanatha Temple Misc Brahma Temple, Bindusagar Brahma Temple, Niali Hanuman Vatika Harihara Deula Harishankar Temple Joranda Gadhi Sasisena Temple Shakti temples in Odisha Shiva temples in Odisha Temples in Bhubaneswar