Akhandalamani temple, at Aradi village, Orissa

Orissa

Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, is dedicated to lord Siva

Shiva

Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...

. Aradi is about thirty seven kilometers away from Bhadrak

Bhadrak

Bhadrak is a city and a municipality in Bhadrak district in the state of Orissa, India.-Demographics: India census, Bhadrak had a population of 1,33,4000. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Bhadrak has an average literacy rate of 73.86, higher than the national average of...

. The present fifty-foot-tall cement

Cement

In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...

 and concrete

Concrete

Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...

 temple

Temple

A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...

 structure was constructed replacing a wooden temple some time between 1830-1840 AD.

Location & transportation

This famous Akhandalamani temple, the abode of “Lord Siva” is located in the bank of river Baitarani, at Aradi, 37 km away from the district headquarters of Bhadrak towards east by road via Asurali, Kothara and Dhusuri. This place is also linked with Chandabali

Chandabali

Chandabali is a community in the Bhadrak district of Orissa on the bank of the River Baitarani, and a tourist destination for visitors to the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary.-History:...

 by boat through the river Baitarani. From Chandabali ferry ghat to Aradi it will take hardly two hours by boat.

Legend/History

There is no such conclusive history available either regarding Baba Akhandalamani or the temple of the lord siva. According to legends around 350 years ago during the rule of Raja Sri Niladri Samara Singha Mohapatra, once in an early morning the Raja sent a peasant to cultivate his Paddy field which was located on the bank of the river Baitarani. While cultivating, the blade of his plough was broken by hitting with some hard material. Then, the peasant was astonished and searched out and found a black glazed granite stone with full of blood which is flowing towards the river Baitarani. Afraid by this incident the peasant ran to call the King. Then the king Niladrisamar Singh hurriedly came to the spot, and found flood of milk in place of blood and a huge black cobra hooding the stone. On that night the king had a dream regarding the arrival of the God Akhandalamani on that place. This news spread like wild fire in the locality.

The next day the king Niladri Samara Singha Mohapatra started worshiping the great god and immediately built a wooden temple on the spot. A large number of devotees from different villages and area started visiting and worshiping the great God. The king invited five Brahmins from a village named Naharagrama of Jajapur district to perform seva-puja (worshiping and taking care) of lord Akhandalamani.

The present main temple of Aradi was built by the King of Konika Shri Harihara Bhanja and his chief queen Satyabhama Patadei.The height of the temple is around 150 ft. All the stones used in this temple were brought from the historic hill of Lalitgiri near Chandikhol.

Temple

The entrance main Hall was built by a sage named Shri Narasingha Pratap Kumar and the surrounding wall of the temple was built by a noted sage named Shri Darshan Sekhara Das. Later, by govt initiative today's Bhoga Mandapa near the temple along with the present temple office was built. The P.W.D road from Bhadrak to Aradi was declared State Highway and was converted into all weather Road instead of fare weather road. A Pantha Nivas was built at Aradi by Tourism Dept., Govt. of Orissa. The Govt. of Orissa sanctioned a handsome amount for the temple.

Festivals

There are many fairs and festivals observed at the temple of Baba Akhandalamani like Mahasibaratri which is locally called Jagara mela. On this day pilgrims and devotees inside and outside the state are assembled and worship Akhandalamani at Aradi. Bol bam devotees come to Aradi in large number from different areas in the month of Sravana to worship the God and pour holy water over the Linga. The Bol bam devotees carry holy water from different rivers of India like Ganges, Baitarani, Mahanadi, Salandi etc. with a bamboo lever.

External links

• Akhandalamani Official website
• Akhandalamani
• Wikimapia