Dhenkanal

Kapilash temple is situated in the north east corner of Dhenkanal town at a distance of 26 Km from the district head quarters. The temples is situated in about 2239 feet from the sea level. The temple is 60 feet in height .There are two approaches for the temple. One is through climbing 1352 steps and the other is ‘Barabanki’ or the travel twisting way.

King Narasinghdeva-I constructed the temple for Sri Chandrasekhar (Lord Shiva) in 1246 AD indicated in the Kapilash temples inscription. On the left side is ‘Payamruta kunda’ and on the right side ‘Marichi kunda’ exists. The temple has a wooden Jagamohana.

Sri Ganesh, Kartikeya, Gangadevi etc are found in the temple. Patita pavana Jagannath also remain in the temple as ‘Parsva deva’.

Lord Biswanath temple is also situated in Kapilash.

History says it was the ashram of Kapila muni, to some scholars it is the second Kailash of Lord Siva.

Sridhar Swami who wrote commentary on Srimad Bhagavatam stayed here for quite some time and left his body here. Maha Sivaratri is the greatest festival at Kapilash. The Temple of Narayan, Biswanath, Bhubaneswari & many maths can be worth visiting.

Besides that Deer Park, Science Park also add to the attraction to the place.

Lord Chaitanya in Dhenkanal –

Lord Chaitanya on his way to Jharikhand is said to have come to Dhenkanal. He came to Dhenkanal unknown to many along with Ballabhadra bhattacharya.

Jharikhanda forest being very large included a large area within states of Jharkhand , Odisha and west Bengal. Part of Dhankanal was within the Jharikhanda forest.

Chaitanya Charitamrita : Lord Chaitanya Visit to Vrindavan. Madhya lila chptr 17.

After attending the Ratha-yātrā ceremony of Śrī Jagannātha, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu decided to start for Vṛndāvana. Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya and Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī selected a brāhmaṇa named Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya to personally assist Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Early in the morning before sunrise, the Lord started for the town of Kaṭaka (Cuttack). North of Kaṭaka, He penetrated a dense forest and came upon many tigers and elephants, whom He engaged in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. Whenever the Lord had a chance to visit a village, Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya would beg alms and acquire some rice and vegetables. If there were no village, Balabhadra would cook whatever rice remained and collect some spinach from the forest for the Lord to eat. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was very pleased with the behavior of Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya.

In this way the Lord passed through the jungle of Jhārikhaṇḍa (Jharkhand) and finally reached Vārāṇasī.

APPROACH

Rail – Dhenkanal Railway Station.

Road – 26 Km. From Dhenkanal, regular bus services are available apart from hired taxies.