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| The Sakshi Gopal Temple |
I spent the New Year 2014 in
Odisha visiting places like Konark, Puri and Bubhaneshwar. I also happened to
visit the Sakshi Gopal Temple in the village subsequently named Sakshi Gopal.
This is a temple of Krishna as Venugopal. The story related as the explanation
for the origin of this temple is fascinating as it epitomizes the power of
belief and faith.
Mahindra a village youth wants to
marry Vasanthi, the daughter of Raghav. Vasanthi too wants to marry him. But
Raghave is bent on marrying her to an older but wealthy man, Sukhdev. Mahindra
sets off for Puri to earn his living and after sometime Raghav joins Sukhdev
and his party on a pilgrimage to Puri. Suddenly Raghav contracts small pox and
is left to his own devices in the outskirts of the town by Sukhdev and his
cronies. But, Mahindra who happens to hear about Raghav’s situation rushes to
his aid and nurses him night and day till he recovers his health. Raghav is
touched and understanding Mahindra’s good nature vows before the sanctum of the
Puri Jagannath Mandir to give his daughter Vasanthi in marriage to him.
They return back to their native
village. Induced by Sukhdev’s costly gifts and false promises, Raghv changes
his mind and once again refuses to give Vasanthi to Mahindra. Mahindra complains to the Village
Head. The Village elders conduct an inquiry when Raghav stoutly denies his
promise. Mahindra has no witness to substantiate his version, except of course the
Lord of Puri Himself. Mahindra calls the Lord as his witness. But the Villagers
laugh and ask him to bring the Lord to give witness or Sakshi. Mahindra vows to
do so and goes to Puri where he prays incessantly to the Lord. The Lord finally
appears and agrees and promises to follow Mahindra and give witness upon
condtion that Mahindra should never turn back on his way home.
Throughout the journey back
Mahindra keeps hearing the sound of the Lord’s anklets. But as they approached
the sandy area near his village, the sound of the anklets were muffled and he
couldn’t hear them. So, like Orpheus in the Greek myth, he turned back and
there beheld the image of Lord Venugopal. He weeps at the feet of the Lord but
to no avail. Luckily the villagers are overjoyed that the Lord had come thus
far to stand witrness for his devotee. They ensure that Mahindra is married to
Vasanthi and he is also made the first Pujari of the Temple.
It is also pertinent to note that
there is a shrine for Sakshi Gopal within the precincts of the Puri Jagannath
Mandir.
The first time I read about
Sakshi Gopal was the Amar Chitra Katha story which is very neutral on locale
and community. The ISKCON version places Mahindra’s village in South India and
makes him a Brahmin. Actually visiting the temple was an experiential thing
that I enjoyed.
While this delightful story adds
charm to a visit to this quaint Krishna Templeat Sakshi Gopal in coastal Odisha
between Puri and Bubaneshwar, it cannot be denied that the Pandas or pujaris
who occupy the temple currently are a set of rogues and thieves. They create much
nuisance for the unwary traveller. They force you to make an entry in a
register as “evidence” (Sakshi – Got it?) of your visit. Once the entry is made
they demand huge sums of money as dakshina and pester you throughout your visit
thereby taking away the serene and divine ambience that is needed for devotion
to the Lord of the Universe.
Another matter to be noted is
that in all Odisha temple you will find some Shikaras are stone but others are
plastered. This is because during Mughal period all the Temple statuary was
hidden by plaster to protet them from vandals. Subsequently the Archeological
Department has slowly removed the plaster and restored the stone and statuary
as far as possible to their original splendor. But still the damage is
tremendous and the general air of decay and dilapidation is saddening,
especially at National Heritage spots like Konark and Lingharaj temple.
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| Decay and Dilapidation |
