Langaleswar: There are many villages in Balasore district which have interesting legends behind their names. Take the example of Langaleswar village, 50 km from the district headquarters.
Langaleswar temple, said to be one of the ancient temples in the state, is a few metres from the local bazaar. River Parvati flows behind the temple amid scenic natural settings.
The shrine draws devotees and tourists throughout the year. Given its tourism importance, the state government has accorded the status of tourism centre to the area in 2011.
However, the government has not made development of the shrine. In 2015, Rs 30 lakh had been provided to the shrine for a panthnivas, but that fund has been lying unutilized, because the administration has not been able to identify a piece of land for the project till date.
Langaleswar area is mainly known for paddy cultivation in Balasore. A legend has it that Lord Shiva had left Kailash for Langaleswar in order to produce crops for the creatures.
The Lord himself made a plough (langal) and started cultivation. He stayed here for long. As he did not return home for a long time, Goddess Parvati looked for him and finally reached this place. Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati had a reunion here.
While ploughing land, the iron blade of the plough was picking up balls of earth and grass. He was wiping them off from the plough and throwing to different places.
Wherever the balls of earth were falling, human settlements have come up now, it is believed. One such place is called Batiadiha (balls of earth and grass).
At times, the Lord used to take rest from work and get relief after whiffing ganja. The places where he used to sit was named as Ganja.
While returning home, he went astray (batabana) at a place. The place was known as Baniadiha. From there, he took rest at a place which was known as Biswanathpur.
“Names of some other villages have been named after various activities being done by Lord Shiva,” said elderly people like Bhanucharan Patra and Sitaram Das.
Over the years, the ancient temple was shrouded under a cover of bushes, kewada plants and trees – almost looking like a vast shrub land.
Decades ago, the area was under the rule of landlords. Only 24 farmer families used to stay in the area.
While a landlord was clearing the area, he had found a Shiva Linga and the remnants of a plough.
Since then, the area was known as Langaleswar while Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati were worshiped together, this is a speciality of the place.
A 15-day long festival for Shivaratri is organised here. Devotees from various parts of Bihar, West Bengal, and Jharkhand come here.
Villager Ramchandra Das and temple priest Gopinath Mishra demanded that the tourism department pay attention to the development of the place.
PNN
