EXCELLENCY OF LORD UTTARESHWAR

Choudwar area of Cuttack district of Odisha is named Asta Shambhu Khetra too. Because there are eight Ancient Shiv Temples. Agrahat village belongs to the same area where one can find two ancient Shiv Temples out of the eight i. e. two Astashambhus named Uttareshwar and Gatteshwar. During the year 1969, I was a student of Agrahat M. E. School which was situated near Seniormost Astashambhu Temple, Lord Uttareshwar which bears a legendary image of Mahabharat Yudh, the great ancient Indian war fought between Pandav and Kaurab, in other words between purity and impurity. I was then reading in class VI.

During Summer Holidays we were attending coaching classes which were taken up by our late Class teacher Late Bishwanath Sahoo. It was a scorching sunny day. That day our Bishwanath Sir was absent due to his illness. We were totally 15 numbers of students including 5 nos. of girls and 10 nos. of boys. Awaiting our Sir for a long time we felt bored and upset owing to excessive heat while sitting inside a room having a roof made of asbestos. Uttareshwar temple was situated at a distance of about 300 meters from our school. So all of our boys classmates decided to go to the temple premises for time to pass. We asked all our girl classmates to come with us but they were not willing to accompany us. So they stayed inside the classroom.

The natural surroundings of the temple were very beautiful at that time. After arriving at the temple premises we entered the temple and sat on the floor of its entrance hall. After some time we preferred to walk up to the old banyan tree inside the temple campus and sat on the platform raised under the tree. The tree was on the left side of the Sarpa Medha Yagnya Kund ( Serpenticidal sacrificial pit built by king Janmejaya ). After ten minutes we, the classmates, looked around. Then we noticed a man putting on only a loin cloth was sitting on the floor of Bramhin Smashan ( the cremation ground only for the use of Bramins of village Agrahat ). He was smeared with the crematorium ashes all over his body. He had also a long clotted beard and clotted hairs on his head. As we saw such type of person for the first time we were astonished. We were afraid of seeing him as he seemed very peculiar to us, nevertheless, we walked up to him and enquired, " Who are you? Where have you come from?" Then he replied, " My name is Ratan. I belong to Kujibar ( a neighboring village of Agrahat ). I had left my village twenty years ago and went to Ujjain to offer worship to Lord Mahakaleshwar. There I came across a group of naked saints Aghories ( the devotees of Lord Shiv with weird appearance and behaviour who eat burnt flesh of dead bodies and smear their bodies with ashes always ). So I was curious and adopted their cult and became an Aghori. As per the advice of my Guru ( Teacher ) I was bound to pay a courtesy visit to my native place here." He was telling Odia with a Hindi accent.

I was the only student who could converse with the Aghori saint in the Hindi language. So again I asked him, " Please Baba (Saint) tell

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us about your feeling here. " He retorted, " It is a very sacred place whosoever will come here can have the blessings of Lord Shiv so that one must have a healthier and lengthier span of life forever. So I have divine bliss excessively here which I couldn't get anywhere in Odisha. Moreover here, inside the premises, is a particular spot on which if a corpse is kept it must be alive again. This temple was built about six thousand years ago by King Birat when Dwaper Yug was dominating. Now it is Kali Yug, it has already been covered by stones and soil. So this spot is quite impossible to be seen with the naked eyes of the people of Kali Yug. Because Shukracharya the Teacher and guide of demons practiced Tapasya( austerities )on this particular spot for many years to get the Mrutyu Sanjibani Mantra ( the Vaidic hymn with the superpower to replace the soul in a dead body )from Lord Uttareshwar after satisfying Him. Only the great spiritual Yogi of the Himalayas may search it out for the benefit of the people. However, it is a very impossible task. Now you are students. You wanted to know. So I told you this hidden mystery about the sacred premises of the senior most Lord Astashambhu Uttareshwar. "

I along with other classmates was listening to this story very attentively. Then the Aghori Saint advised us, " Dear boys! Now I have to depart from here as soon as possible. Because I have promised before my Guru to join our Ashram the day after tomorrow without fail. Otherwise, my Guru must be angry. Before departing I do advise you, never to lose your character and be attentive to your career. Furthermore, I bless you all my dear children stay blessed and enlightened by the grace of the Lord Uttareshwar Mahadev who is ever well-wisher and benevolent to mankind since time immemorial. Then we touched his feet by bowing our heads and came back to the classroom. The Aghori saint walked on foot speedily to Choudwar Gandhichhak Bust Stand instantly as he told before.

At that time our Bishwanath Sir had already arrived and we sat in our respective seats. Sir asked us for our late arrival. We told the truth. Then he remarked, " Whatever the Aghori saint told you is true. I have also heard from my grandparents when I was a student like you. Lord Uttareshwar is really the most powerful Astashambhu who has the supreme and extraordinary power to enliven a dead body. He has also made his name worthwhile as Mrutyunjay which means that one who has the special capacity to replant the lost soul into any corpse without discrimination. The effulgence of this power derived from the aura of great sage Shukracharya, Master of all demons, has been stored in a patch of soil only here inside the campus of Lord Uttareshwar Temple." Then Sir started teaching," I am unable to forget this episode till today notwithstanding I am a senior citizen now.

         

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