Baruneswar – Historic Shiva Temple

Baruni Shiva mandir is the one of the major temples in Baripada, Mayurbhanj. Established in 19th century, this temple is a major attraction on Maha Shiva Ratri. The temple is standing on the bank of water stream “Jarali Sarali”, which later meets with main river of town “Budha Balanga”. Town’s major burial ground ( Shamshaan ghat ) is also nearby. Again a very famous Kali temple called as Baruni Kali Mandir is also in the close vicinity of it.

Because of its remote location, this place is feels equally fulfilling and void at a same time.

Architecture & Design

This temple is a punchmukhi mandir that means it has 5 domes. There is fresh water pool which is built like leaf of peepal. Whole temple has many sculptures of animals and birds like lion, pigeon, snake, elephant etc.

5 Domes can’t be seen from any side directly. But it is said that at a certain angle from south it can be viewed.

Timings to visit

Pooja is done only in the mornings. Good time to visit here is 8 – 11 AM. However on Mondays or special pooja days, priests would be available till approximately 2 PM. On very special days of Shiva like Mahashivaratri, it remained open for the entire night.

However if you just want to visit the temple’s vicinity only then you can go anytime during day.

Prasadam

There are no shops in the vicinity of the temple. But sometimes, you can find some “Rehdi wala” selling coconuts, bananas and diyas.

Vegetation & Flora

The temple vicinity is full of many plants and trees. Few of them are for decorations and flowers but other few hold specific importance. The presence of Rudrakshya tree makes it more serene. If you are lucky enough you will find a rudrakshya laying around in the vicinity of tree.

History & Lore

The temple is almost 200 years old and was built by “Dharma Chandra Bhanj Deo“. However the Shiva Lingum was already here, which only maharajas used to worship before going for war.

Before the establishment of the temple, this place was a marshy land where normal people used to avoid going. Story says that once raja Dharma Chandra Bhanj Deo who was brother of then crowned king , was had come to this place on his elephant. Suddenly elephant’s leg got stuck in the marshy land and was not able to move. Being a devotee of Shiva, Dharma Chandra Bhanj Deo, felt strong presence of godly power here.

After trying for long and failing many times, he called for more men to help. Dharma Chandra vowed to build a temple there for God Shiva if he gets a son and miraculously his elephant was able to move out after that. This reinforced his faith of Shiva.

Then came the day when the work related to temple begun. But soon they had to halt the work because of marshy land. It was a difficult engineering problem to solve. The masonries were not able to hold the structure, and entire structure was getting collapsed.

On clearing some more mud, a secondary source of water was discovered, which was continuously flowing with fresh water. Being surprised and horrified at the same time, a separate small pool was built around it.

To hold the mud flow, a huge copper plate was imported from Myanmar and placed. The entire structure was then built over that plate. It is said that temperature of the floor of the temple feels way cooler than the scorching outside temperature because of this plate and the land beneath the plate is still marshy.

How to reach ?

Address : Prafulla Nagar, Sunamuhin, Near Baruni Shamshan, Baripada, Odisha 757001

To reach here you will have to reach Baripada. People coming from outside need to reach Mayurbhanj first. Please check “How to to reach ?” page for more details.

A glimpse of Mahasivaratri 2021

Interesting Event ! During the flood of 2015, the entire area was submerged in water. But the natural fresh water pool about which I talked to you above didn’t get contaminated at all. The continuous stream of fresh water didn’t allow mud water to come in. Note how the pool’s water is still blue.