|
She worshipped Lord Siva and Krishna in that place.
Babaji Govinda Das was her guru. Once the guru offered a
pumpkin seed to the queen. The queen planted the seed.
The vegitative growth of the pumpkin creeper was so
luxuriant that it spread across a large area. Hundreds
of pumpkin were produced from it. Those pumpkins were
utilised for preparation of Mahaprasada in the temple,
and it was a talk of the town at that time.
The fame of Kalandi Devi and the miraculous pumpkin plant
reached the ear of Gajapati Kapilendra Dev. The fourteen
sons of queen Kalandi Devi came to her mother, who was
staying alone. One day Gajapati Kapilendra Dev
accompanied by his guru, Mahadev Brahma, paid a visit to
the residential garden of the queen Kalandi Mahadevi. At
that time Govinda Das, the guru of Kalandi Devi, was
engaged in the worship of Lord Gopinath. Guru Govind Das
blessed the king who was eager to meet queen Kalandi
Devi.
Guru Govind Das requested the king to excavate a famous
tank for her, after the name of her late husband, Veer
Narendra Dev. To fulfil the desire of the queen he also
requested the king to name the main ghata after Narendra
Dev, the next one in the name of queen Kalandi Devi. The
king also constructed fourteen ghatas after the name of
fourteen sons of Narendra Dev. Chandana bije ghata (Lamba
Chakada) was constructed for the purpose of Chandana
bije of Lord Jagannath. This Chakada is named after
Narendra Dev. Apart to all this, king Kapilendra Dev
constructed a temple for Kalandisvara Shiva and Gopinath
on the bank of this holy tank. The Brahma Jaga after the
name of Narahari Brahma (a court poet) was also
established. Thus the famous Chandan Yatra of Lord
Jagannath is being observed in pomp and ceremony in the
holy Narendra tank from those days.
From the old administrative records of Srimandir it is also
known that the creation of the Narendra tank is due to
the seed of pumpkin. The story is as follows:
"During the reign of King Narendra Dev of the vassal
state Ranpur had very good relationship with the
Gajapati king of Puri. King Narendra Dev was a great
devotee of Lord Jagannath. Once he got a pumpkin seed
while moving leasurely in the countryard of his palace.
The king in his jolly mood gave the seed to a
Sarbarakara (Revenue Collector). He told the Sarbarakara
to plant the seed in the name of Lord Jagannath and to
offer all the pumpkins produced to the Lord. The
Sarbarakara planted the seed in the name of Lord
Jagannath with full devotion.
Astonishingly the growth of the pumpkin creeper was
luxurant and covered an area of 14 acres. This creeper
had a life of 5 years. Lakhs of pumpkins were produced.
The sarbarakara sold all the pumpkins worth lakhs of
rupees. The Sarbarakara deposited all the money to the
king Narendra Dev. King Narendra Dev offered the money
to Gajapati King of Puri. Both the kings decided to
construct a tank at Srikshetra out of this fund. The
tank was of the area of 14 acres same to the area the
creeper covered. This is the tank of the presently
famous Narendra.
Narendra is the biggest and most historical famous tank
in Srikshetra. From a historical point of view it was
established in 14th-15th c. A.D. Madala Panji mentions
the Narendra tank, saying that Lakhaposa Narendra
Mohapatra, the minister of Ganga King Veer Narasingha
Dev, excavated the Narendra Saucha tank. From the very
word 'Narendra Saucha' it is known that this tank was
built for the purpose of daily use.
It is clear from the above description that this tank
was built during the Ganga period. Chara Ganesha is also
worshipped in a nearby Jaga close to this tank.
Tradition says that the scaffolding was done to carry
big stone slabs for the construction of the great temple
from here. From another account it is known that the
brother of Gajapati Kailendra Deva had dug this tank. So
this tank was created in the middle of 15th c. A.D. (Suryavamsi
Period). Narendra tank is situated at Mauza Dandimala
Sahi. This tank stands on the revenue plot No.117 and
199 respectively. The tank covers an area of 14.533
acres. The water level of the tank is about 10 feet
below the present road level.
There are 16 ghats of the tank. Among these ghats 14
are named after the 14 sons of Narendra Deva, one after
his queen, Kalandi Devi, Kalandiswar ghat, and the main
ghat, i.e. Narendra Chakada ghat, after Narendra Deva,
brother of Gajapati Kapilendra Dev.
There are 3 ghats in the east, 4 in the
west, 3 in the north and 6 in the south (including the
chief ghat) respectively. The main ghat contains a
flight of steps made of Khondalite stone. The
approximate depth of the tank is 28." The size of the
tank is nearly square measuring 834" by 873."
The tank has an island in its centre bearing a small
temple of later period called Chandana mandapa (50" x
12"), which is connected with the south bank by a bridge
to which Madana-mohana, the moving Deity of Lord
Jagannath, is brought for 21 days during Chandan Yatra.
The tank was previously a fine sheet of water
which was kept clean by flushings from the Madhupur
river (Mitiani river) during the rains, brought through
a channel in the western corner. [6] Over this Madhupur
river stands the famous Atharanala Bridge. It is the
entrance of Puri town. Presently both the inlet and the
outlet of the tank are completely choked up and the
system no longer works. As a result the water has turned
filthy. On the bank of Narendra, Chara Ganesh, Gopinath
Ballabha Matha, Brahma Jaga and Jatia Baba Matha are
situated.
The historical study of the tank would be incomplete
without the study of Chara Ganesha and Brahma Jaga.
Chara Ganesha: Close to Narendra Tank, a small Ganesha
image exists in Ganesha Guruja Jaga, even now which is
known as Chara Ganesha and is indicative of the fact
that the scaffolding to carry big stone slabs for the
construction of the Great temple started from this
place. Hindu tradition confirms that in the beginning of
every auspicious work, Ganesha who is known as
Siddhidata (a deity granting success), has to be
worshipped. It appeals to reason that in a sandy tract
like Puri where massive stones are a rare building
material, they must have been brought in VIA water route
(either through Mahanadi or through Chilika) to Narendra
tank, from where these stones were taken to the temple
construction site through a scaffold which is called
Chara in Oriya.
A scaffold or Chara is usually made of seasoned palm
wood and it is still used in chariots during the Car
Festival, to enable the heavy idols to be raised from
the ground to the platform on the chariots. In earlier
days there was a big door near Chara Ganesha known as 'Bada
Duara'.
Besides Chara Ganesha, Brahma Jaga is also
culturally related with Narendra tank. Its description
is as follows:
Brahma Jaga: This Jaga is situated on the eastern side
of the Narendra Tank. It is described in the Chakada
that Pandit Narahari Brahma was the court poet of
Gajapati Kapilendra Deva. Later the Gajapati established
a Jaga in the name of Pandit Narahari Brahma. There was
a mandapa named 'Brahma Jaga Alinda' from where the
king, queen and royal members viewed the famous Chandan
Yatra. The presiding Deity of this Jaga is Lord Hanuman.
From all these descriptions it is evident that this tank
is quite significant from historical point of view.
|
|
|
