Dhabaleswar

The name Dhabaleswar ( Dhabala or White + Eeswar or God ) is attributed to a miracle performed by Lord Shiva. Once a thief stole a black bull calf from a village and fled to a Shiva temple. He hid himself with the calf in the sanctum while the angry crowd waited outside the temple. The crowd could clearly hear the calf calling out. The thief prayed fervently to Lord Shiva to deliver him from the crowd. Taking pity on him, the Lord appeared as a Sanyassin before the crowd and asked them the cause of their agitation On being told that they suspected the thief of hiding in the sanctum along with the black calf, the sanyassin brought the calf outside to dispel their doubts. The calf turned out to be white, seeing which the crowd let the thief go. The sanyassin disappeared and the thief realized who had come to his aid. He confessed and apologized to the crowd. He took a vow to spend the rest of his life in the service of the Lord. The act of turning a black calf to white caused Lord Shiva to be also known as Dhabaleswara.

The present temple structure was constructed by Bir Kishor, ruler of Khurda. It is said that once he set out on a hunt with his personal bodyguards and attendants. During the course of the hunt, they discovered the original temple which was in a derelict state. The king ordered the renovation of the temple, granted an area of land measuring 314 maana. He also entrusted the care and service of the temple to one Mali.The family of Mali later on found the village of Malisahi which falls on the way to the temple. This was done in 1153 of the Saka era which would be 1232 AD. The present day temple was renovated and repaired by Athagarha Debbator Authority. Sambit Patri is the chief priest of the temple.

The temple can be reached by bus via Chowdwar, Nuapatana, Mancheshwar. it can also be reached via Bidanasi through boating on river Mahanadi. Odisha's first ever foot hang bridge is connecting the exotic island with mancheswar which is the major way to reach the temple.

Being situated on an island, the temple can be reached by boats leaving from ferries in or near Cuttack. There is also a foot bridge which devotees or visitors can use on paying a nominal fee. People from the nearby villages have set up a number of shops leading to the bridge and the temple's entrance.

• A big fair is held on the shukla paksha chaturdashi of the month Kartika called Bada-osha
• Shivaratri
• Various functions like Shivaratri, Pausha purnima, Dola purnima, and Kartika purnima are celebrated here

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hindu temples of Orissa.

• Lord DHABALESWAR TEMPLE is located in an island within river Mahanadi and is approx 57 km by road North of Bhubaneswar via Cuttack & Choudwar. This information may be incorporated else the information in your section is misleading. There is a wirerope hanging footbridge which accesses to the temple.

• 1. http://www#orissatourism#gov#in/new/wsdhabal#html Dhabaleshwara, the living god of Cuttack#
  2. http://travel#sulekha#com/dhabaleswar-island#htm Lord Shiva, who made one black bullock into white one#
• Sculptures of Dhabalesvara
• report on Archaeological survey
• Book: Lesser Known Monuments of Bhubaneswar by Dr. Sadasiba Pradhan #ISBN 81-7375-164-1#