Sakshi Gopal Temple Puri

Introduction to Sakshi Gopal Temple Puri

Puri is the holy land for pilgrims, where they can worship in many temples. Pilgrims enter the city from every corner of the world for several religious aspects. Among other Hindu temples, Sakshi Gopal Temple Puri is well-renowned. It lies on the Puri- Bhubaneswar Highway and is 20 Km from Puri city, Odisha. Krishna (Gopinatha) is the prime deity. Satyabadi Gopinatha Temple and Sakhi Gopal temple are the other names of it.

Legend of the Sakshi Gopal Temple Puri

The Sakshi Gopal Temple Puri carries many legends. One said that a young lad fell in love with a girl in a small village in Odisha. The girl's father was the village headman. But, the young man belonged to a poor family. Their love matter came to the ears of the headman. But he denied it. So, the young lovers got disheartened.

Later, the entire village went on a pilgrimage to Kasi. On the way, the headman fell. The villagers abandoned him and continued their journey. But, the young man stayed back and nursed him. The headman, after some days, got complete recovery. As a token of gratitude, he agreed to give his daughter to the young man for a wedding. But, the headman reneged on his promise soon after returning to the village. He told the young man to produce a witness to get his claim.

The poor young man prayed to Krishna. The deity appeared in the form of Gopal, the cowherd before him. Gopal, the cowherd, agreed to come as his witness with a condition. The condition was that the young man should not look back while walking. The young man agreed and started walking to the village. The young man was walking ahead, and Gopal was following him. He was keeping an ear for the footsteps sound of Gopal. The young man stopped hearing his footsteps when they walked on a sandy part. He looked back anxiously. Gopal turned into stone and stood there. The poor man was speechless. He ran into the village and brought the villagers back with him. They were shocked and stunned to see the statue of Gopal. Finally, all agreed to get the young lovers married. They also built the first temple to the deity Gopal (Krishna) there, calling him Sakshi Gopal, which means the deity was the witness.

The architecture of the Sakshi Gopal Temple Puri

The Kalinga architectural style of the temple makes it popular in Odisha. After capturing Vidyanagar, the Gajapati King of Orissa Sri PurusottamDev brought the statue from there. The King installed the statue at his fort at Cuttack. The saint Chaitanya worshipped the Gopal statue on his way to Puri. After the invasion of Muslim Kings, the Khurda chiefs shifted the statue from place to place. Finally, they stationed the Gopal statue at Alasa. Presently there is a small village called Alasa near Sakhigopal.

Sakshi Gopal Temple Puri looks like the famous Jagannath Temple. Chandana, Shyamakunda, and Radhakunda are the holy ponds of the temple. Its main verandah (front yard) has several bells. The hall features beautiful designs on the walls. First, there was only the idol of Krishna. After a stage, due to the influence of Gita Govinda, people accepted the dual sculpture of Radha Krishna. King of Ranpur of Puri offered one statue of Radha. So, now the sanctum sanctorum has a 5 feet statue of Krishna playing flute and a 4 feet bronze idol of his consort Radha by his left side. The conjoined image of Lakshmi Narayana is on the right side.

The temple's specialty is using wheat Prasad prepared instead of rice.

Festivals of Sakshi Gopal Temple Puri

Dola Purnima, Chandan Yatra, Amla Navami, Kartik Purnima, and Sri Krishna Jayanti are the main festivals in the Sakshi Gopal Temple Puri.

Benefits of worshipping in Sakshi Gopal Temple Puri

Devotees throng the temple to worship the deity for harmony, marital bliss, long-lasting marital life, peace, and prosperity.