Sri Alarnatha Swamy Temple – Puri
Sri Alarnatha Swamy
Temple is located in Brahmagiri near Puri of Odisha State.
It is considered one
of the 108 Abhimana Kshetra of the Vaishnavate Tradition.
Here, Lord Vishnu is
worshipped as Alarnath, the four-handed figure holding the padma, gada, shankh,
and Chakra. Garuda, the carrier of Lord Vishnu, kneels at the feet of the god,
his hands folded in devotion.
There is a separate
shrine for Goddess Lakshmi inside the temple compound. The deities like
Rukmini, Satyabhama, and Lord Chaitanya are also found inside the temple.
It is said that the
current Lord Alarnatha temple is two centuries older than the Jagannatha Temple
located in Puri. Here, atop a hill, is
where legend has it that Lord Brahma came to adore Lord Vishnu. The temple was
built here, as the legend states, by the rulers of Alwar, Rajasthan. Later on,
the temple was known as Alwarnath or Alarnath.
It becomes crowded during
the Krishna paksha of Ashadha, after the Snana Yatra when devotees are not
allowed to see the central icon of Jagannath (a form of Vishnu) in his Puri
temple. During this period, popularly known as Anasara or 'Anavasara' (literally
meaning no opportunity to see the lord of Puri), instead of having darshan in
the Puri temple, devotees believe that Jagannath during this time manifests as
Alarnath Dev, at the Alarnath temple in Brahmagiri.
The temple is associated
with the visit of the saint Ramanujacharya to Odisha. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
during his stay in Puri used to see the deity form of Jagannath daily. During
Anavasara when Jagannath and his sibling deities were taken to the secret chamber
for 15 days, he was unable to see the Lord. So as per legend, Jagannath
directed him to go to Brahmagiri and visit the Alarnath temple. Still today the
Shila over which Chaitanya Mahaprabhu used to do Sankirtana is there.
Timings
6.00 am to 9.00 pm
How to reach the Temple
23 km from Puri.
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