Chhatia Bata

This place Chhatia bata is the esting place of Mahapurusha Saint Hadidas, the author of “Malika”. The Malika (coming from “Kali Maa” in reverse) is a predictive text that forecasts events of the future, and has been uncannily accurate till date. It mentions the end of the Kaliyug, wherein Lord Vishnu will take on the Kalki Avatar and slay sinners to purify the world. The current Avatar Lord Jagannath and his brother Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra will quit their abode at Puri and move to Chhatia, the only place which won’t be submerged by the sea.

The temple thus, currently houses idols of the lords, in an interesting manner. There is a temple where all three Lords are together, but in a different serial than we see in Puri. Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra, from left to right, apparently signifying a new world order. Besides, there are individual temples for all three of them. Each of these are small dark chambers, housing a large idol, within a grill, giving a perpetual claustrophobic feeling. You can only see them from the side, not from the front. The idols have large faces, and are wrapped in cloth. Lord Balabhadra and Lord Jagannath ride white and black horses respectively, and have hands that hold swords. The swords are said to grow longer with time. You can see Lord Jagannath’s and Devi Subhadra’s feet as well. Interestingly, Lord Balabhadra sits in front of a mirror, so you can stand behind him and see his face in the mirror in the light of a lamp.