Maidalpur: Residents of Ambadapadar village in Maidalpur Panchayat, Papadahandi Block, have unearthed a Shivling that had been buried under sand and soil for 30 years.
According to reports, around 50 years ago, late Khagapati Dandasena, a resident of Ambadapadar village, had a divine vision (Swapnadesh). In his dream, he was guided to a Shivling of Baba Jhadeshwar, which was buried near a canal on the outskirts of the village, inside a mound of sand in the nearby Ghancha forest. Following this vision, villagers discovered the Shivling and started worshipping it.
However, over time, rainwater and erosion caused sand and soil to cover the Shivling, burying it completely. With no alternative, the villagers placed a temporary Shivling near a large stone by the canal and continued their worship there. Since then, Himanshu Dandasena, the grandson of late Khagapati Dandasena, has been performing the rituals.
Shivling Recovered by Villagers’ Efforts
Every year, before Shivratri, villagers performed rituals and staged traditional plays in the village. This year, in a community meeting, villagers decided to stop the annual drama and instead use the collected funds to recover Baba Jhadeshwar’s original Shivling.
More than 200 villagers came together and, after five days of digging, finally unearthed the buried Shivling today.