Why I am writing about Kaptipada? well if we will go back to the period of Mahabharata, there was mention of Pandavas AGYANT VASA in VIRAT PARBA. During agyantvasa, Pandavas took shelter at the Matysa Kingdom of the VIRAT KING.
According to the legends and folktales, the Kaptipada subdivision of Mayurbhanj was a part of the Matsya kingdom and Pandavas took shelter here. That's why still people are calling it "VIRAT GARH ".
The Kaptipada area is around 50 km from Baripada. It is located on the banks of the Son River. When I went to Kaptipada, I got to know the descendants of the VIRAT KING are still living there. So I decided to meet with them.
While discussing their's dynasty they told me about a temple which is located just opposite the palace. I just got curious and went to the temple.
One of the King from the VIRAT dynasty was King "Rajatchandra Parakram Bahu Abhinav Bhujang Mandhata". During his reign, he built the Dhuni temple. This temple was build between 1935 and 1940. When the two avdhuts, Baya Baba and Pagala Baba, arrived at Kaptipada, they sat down and meditated on goddess Virateswari, the goddess of the Virat dynasty & decided to build this temple.
Inside the temple, there is a huge HAVAN KUND where the holy fire was lit by the avdhuts but later it went out. Baya Baba & Pagala Baba set up a gurukul, where they were teaching hymns, and Vedas and there was also an arena (AKHADA)where wrestlers used to exercise for good health.
The temple you see in the photo shows the upper part of the temple from the outside. Where you can see 3 structures Which are A CHAKRA, A TRISHUL & A HALF MOON which refers to Lord Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma.
Inside the temple, there are the stone idol of Baya Baba and Pagala Baba, along with a stone statue of Bhujang Naag & shiva Linga (VIRATESWARA)
Bhujang naga was the protector of VIRAT'S KINGDOM & people say it stays in
SAMI BRUKHYA( another place near Kaptipada where Pandavas kept their weapons during agyantvasa)
It is said that the architect of this palace of the Virat dynasty was not a human but the Bhujang Naag himself. This is a living example of the Naga vastu. If you ll visit this palace you'll see so many structures there are symbols of snakeheads. Isn't it interesting?
Apart from that during the Agyantvasa when Pandavas were entering KING VIRAT's kingdom they worshipped the goddess VIRATESWARI, who is still there inside the palace premises.
All thanks to members royal dynasty
Sri Lal Saheb Shivendra Pratap, Lalsaheb Bibhuwendra Pratap Sai & the present king Sourav Chandra parakram bahu abhinav bhujang mandhata for all the help, which help me to write down this small part of history.
Few scholars are working on this dynasty's history so the upcoming generation ll not forget their's rich history.
Hope more people in the future ll come and explore the amazing history of this great dynasty.
Pic credits - ROYAL FAMILY OF KAPTIPADA & AKASH MOHANTY
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Awesome 😎. Keep it up
Great information ! Keep writing ✍️