Sweta Ganga Tank, Puri – Legends

Sweta Ganga Tank, Puri – Legends

Origin of Sweta Ganga Tank:

Once, Ashvamedha Yagna was performed here. There are four tanks on the four sides of the Pushkarini (pond). While making arrangements for the ritual, the king filled up all the four tanks with clarified butter (ghee) meant for the sacred fire of the Homa. The quantity of ghee was so high that he has to employ elephants to take up the ghee from the tanks and place it before the fire with the help of their trunks. It is said that after eating so much fire, Agni Deva (God of Fire) had a stomach pain.

He became angry and started burning everything, causing great trouble in the ceremony. Terrified by this act of Agni Deva, King Sweta prayed to Brahma and Shiva for rescue. They instructed him to worship Goddess Ganga. She answered the King’s prayers and controlled Lord Agni Deva. This led to the creation of Swetaganga Pushkarini, within which lies the temple of Goddess Ganga and Yamuna submerged in water.

Sweta Ganga:

It is believed that Goddess Ganga resides here in the form of Sweta Ganga so that she can regularly worship Lord Jagannatha. The water is also said to flow directly from the Ganges, which flows into the bottom of the tank. Hence, this pond never becomes dry. It is said even if all the water is pumped out for any reason, the tank automatically refills within a short time. 

Origin from nail of Lord Vishnu:

Swetaganga is mentioned in the Mahabharata. It is believed that it was formed from the nail of Lord Vishnu.

Sweta Madhava:

According to the Utkala Khanda, there was a King Shweta in the Treta Yuga, an ardent devotee of Lord Jagannath. He made arrangements for Jagannath's bhoga just as Indradyumna had done. During his visit to the temple, he saw the offerings made by the devas. He was humbled to see his gifts were insignificant before the gifts made by Deva. Disturbed by the event, he underwent penance.

During his penance, he had a dream that Goddess Lakshmi herself taking his food offerings and feeding them to both Jagannatha. King Sweta continued to serve Jagannatha with much enthusiasm. Finally, Lord Jagannatha gave salvation to Sweta in Sweta Madhava Temple. The Temple is named after him. The tank excavated here was also named as Shweta Ganga. The idols of Sweta Madhava, Matsya Madhava and the nine planets are still worshiped on the banks of this tank.

Sweta Ganga Tank turns Milky:

It is said that during the month of Magh (January- February), the pond turns milky white in Saptami.

Sacred Shilas:

It is believed that there were sacred shilas (rocks) inside the holy tanks which were used to be worshipped in the past. They are i) Mukta shila ii) Gupta shila iii) Brahma shila iv) Yamshila. Of these four sacred stones, Muktashila is worshipped here along with Sweta Madhava and Narayan. These idols are made of black stones. Inside the Pushkarini (pond), there is a temple of Goddess Ganga and Yamuna, which remains submerged in the waters of the pond.

Ganga Mata:

As per the Ganga Mata matha legends, the matha is named after Sachi Devi, the daughter of the Naresh Narayana, zamindar of Puntiya. Sachi devi was born in Puntiya currently in the Rajshahi district of present-day Bangladesh. From her early childhood, Sachi Devi was indifferent to family life and devoted to Krishna. Her parents saw this and wanted to see her married as soon as possible, but Sachi told them that she refused to accept any mortal as her husband. When she announced her determination to remain unmarried in this way, her parents could do nothing to change her mind.

When her mother died, Sachi Devi left home and set out on a pilgrimage which led her first to Puri and then to Vrindavan. Sachidevi received initiation from Shri Haridas Pandit Goswami, the great worshiper of Shri Govindaji in Vrindavan and began performing her bhajan in Vrindavan. Later she continued her sadhana at Radha Kunda. Upon her arrival in Vrindavan Dhama, she met Sri Haridas Goswami and felt her entire pilgrimage was fulfilled. She wanted to take initiation from him, but he hesitated at first because of her wealthy family background.

Later, however, when he saw her asceticism and her unswerving determination to engage in pure devotional life, he gave her initiation in the eighteen-syllabled mantra. This event took place in the Govindaji temple on the Chaitra Shukla Ekadashi. After having received her guru’s mercy, she began to engage in intense Bhajana, subsisting through begging from door to door for food. After a year of this intense devotional activity, she was told by her spiritual master to live in Radha Kund with her spiritually advanced aunt and god-sister, Lakshmi Priya, who regularly chanted three lakhs of naam every day.

As a part of their regular spiritual practice, the two of them daily circumambulated Sri Govardana Giri. After several years of such practice at Radha Kund, when Sachi had become very advanced in her devotional life, her Guru sent her to Purushottam Kshetra to revive and restore the home of Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya, which had fallen into disrepair. Obeying her Guru’s instructions, Sachi Devi went to Jagannath Puri and took the kshetra-sannyasa vow. Among others, King Mukundadeva of Jagannath Puri and a number of Jagannath's Sevaits received Deeksha from her. She was also an eloquent speaker and explained Shrimad Bhagavata for large audiences.

To fulfill her desire to take bath in the Ganga, Lord Jagannath being pleased with her devotion made Gangadevi to appear in the adjoining tank. Since the water of the tank turned milky when the river goddess appears in the tank, the tank came to be known as Sweta Ganga and Sachidevi as Ganga Mata. Ganges came from the lotus feet of Lord Jagannath to her ashram and allowed her to bathe on the same night. Entering Ganga Devi’s waters, she floated to the lotus feet of Jagannath Swami in Jagannath Puri. Early in the morning, when the pujaris unlocked the doors and opened the gates, they discovered her.

Thinking she was a thief, they immediately put her in jail. But Lord Jagannath seeing this mistake appeared in the dream to both the king and the head pujari, ordering them to immediately release Sachidevi from jail and to take initiation from her. The glories of Sachidevi spread throughout Puri and Sachidevi was hurriedly released by the order of Jagannath. From that time onwards, she became famous as Ganga Mata Goswamini. In Jaipur, there is a Deity called Shri Shyama Raya was worshiped by a brahmin. This Deity appeared to the Brahmin in his dream and told him he should take him to Puri and hand him to Gangamata Goswamini.

Following the order of the deity, the Brahmin went to Puri and presented Shri Shyama Raya to her. On the order of Gangamata Goswamini, the king renovated the old palace of Shri Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya and she then established Shri Shyama Raya, and he is still being worshiped there today. The monastery on the bank of Sweta Ganga established by Sachidevi was later known as Ganga Mata Matha or Sachidevi Matha.