Sarala Temple

The Maa Sarala Temple is a Hindu temple in the district of Jagatsinghpur, Odisha, India.It is one of the eight most famous Shakta shrines of Odisha. In Hindu culture, ‘Maa Sarala’ (Mother Sarala) is a Goddess who acts as a patron of the followers of Vaishnav and Shakta. It is rare for a single deity to straddle both of these Hindu denominations. She is sometimes suspected to be a Buddhist tantric figure, as she holds a book, Veena and handbell, which are Mahayana symbols. Goddess Sarala is also known as Vak Devi, the Goddess of Knowledge and Wisdom, and Jhankad Vaasini Sharada. Folklore regarding the goddess goes back to thousands of years, to the age of Parashurama. It is said that it was the god Parashurama who carved the goddess with the tip of his arrow.[citation needed] The worship of the Goddess is said to have been popularized in the 15th century CE by Sidheshwar Parida, a small-time farmer and part-time Odia Paika. He was an ardent follower of the Goddess, and later became Sarala Das, the author of the Odia Mahabharata. At many points and on many occasions he calls Goddess Sarala as Durga, Aparna, Parvati, Narayani, Bhavani, Mahalakshmi, Mahakali, Katyayani, Mahasaraswati, Chandi, Ugratara, Bhairavi, Bhagavati, Mangala, Hingula, Tripura, Vasuli, Barati, Maha Yogeswari, Tarini, Ambika, Charchika, Kamala, Parama Vaisnavi and Maheswari etc. The current temple is approximately 500 years old, and was built by the Raja of Manijanga. The remnants of the old temple are not visible, but folklore suggests that it was sited at Badasarol, where a temple to Ganesha now stands. Many festivals are celebrated in the temple, including Parbana, Sharadiya Utsav, Pana Sankranti, Dola Purnima, and Chandan Jatra. The people of the Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur and Cuttack districts are so attached to the goddess that they make it a point to visit the temple at least once per year.