Bhakta Salabega - Spiritual story

SALABEGA

Dear friends,

While reading about Jagannath temple I read about a  devotee who was not permitted to enter   the temple and whose   prayer was  answered by Lord Jagannatha. 

Recently in a correspondence Sri Venkataraman Perinthalmanna wrote me about Salabega and said that he was an ardent devotee of Lord Jagannath and was a muslim. Today I thought of writing about him compiling information from various sources.

The following is a compilation of information about Odia poet Salabega. Maximum effort is taken to avoid tautology.

Sincerely,

Gopala Krishnan 21-5-2020 

1      Introduction

Salabega occupies a permanent position among the devotional poets of Odisha who devoted his life for Lord Jagannath. He lived in the first half of the 17th century. 

It is said that he was born  between 1607-1608

Salabega was son of the Mughal subedar, Lalbeg, His father on one of his military excursions came across a young widowed Aadivashi taking bath at Dandamukundapur. Fascinated by her youthful beauty, Lalbeg forcibly took her away and made her his wife. Salabega was their only son.

2      Role as Jagannath devotee

As soon as he was old enough, Salabega took up fighting in his father's campaigns. Once he was severely wounded in battle. Battling for life he accepted the advice of his mother, and chanted the holy name of Lord Krishna which cured him miraculously.

 Feeling greatly indebted to Lord Krishna he tried to know more about Hinduism. From his mother he came to know that Lord Jagannath is incarnation of Lord Krishna.

Amazed and thrilled he went to Puri but was refused entrance into the temple of Jagannath due to his Muslim birth.

Thereafter he went on foot to Vrindavana wherein he lived the life of an ascetic in the association of sadhus reciting bhajans in honour of Lord Sri Krishna. After one year in Vraja (Vrindavana), he returned to Puri desiring to see the Ratha yatra festival of Lord Jagannath, but on the way he suddenly fell ill. Feeling helpless and realising that he would not reach Puri in time to see the Ratha yatra festival, he offered prayers to Lord Jagannath petitioning Him to wait until he arrived.

On the day of the return Cart festival, Nandighosa, the cart of Lord Jagannath, did not move until Salabega's arrival. The place where the cart remained stationary to give darshana to Salabega was later used by Salabega for composing his many bhajans in honour of Lord Jagannath. 

His body was cremated there after his death. The Samadhi of this great devotee is still standing on the Grand road in Puri near Balagandi. In honour of him every year during the cart festival, the cart of Lord Jagannath stays for a while near his Samadhi.

3. Salabega- poet

The poet identified Jagannath completely with Sri Krishna. His bhajans are still popular among the devotees of Lord Jagannath. 

Salabega composed numerous devotional songs but not all of them have survived. Most of his compositions are prayers and hymns to Lord Jagannath and Krishna.

A good number of these deal with the romantic dalliance of Krishna with the gopis and Radha, while a few are inspired by the vatsalya ras, the sweet, motherly feeling Yashoda had for child Krishna.

His deep devotion has intensity and passion, outstanding even in the devotional literature of the Bhakti era.

Although the poet was denied entry into the temple, his descriptions of the inner compound and the sanctum are among the most detailed and accurate in the devotional literature of Odisha.

His song 'Ahe Neelashaila (Oh Bluestone lord)...' is perhaps the best description of Bedha Parikrama, or the prescribed circumambulation of the Srimandira. Many of the historical events of the period are recounted in his songs. The poet refers, with deep anguish, to the depredations of the marauders in their attacks on Puri and the repeated attempts to loot and desecrate the Srimandira.

This frequently necessitated shifting the deities outside the main sanctum and the poet gives graphic details in the song 'Kene gheni jaucchha jagannatha nku...

Aahe Nila Shaila; Prabal matta Varan

mo aarata nalinee bana ku kara dalana!

 

Gajaraja chinta kala thai ghora jalena,

Chakra peshi nakra nashi, uddhrile aapana!

 

Ghorabane mrugini ku padithila kashana,

Kede bada beepatti ru kariaccha tarana.

 

Kurusabha tale suni Draupadi ra janana,

Koti bastra dei hele lajja kala barana!

 

Ravana ra bhai Bivishana gala saran,

Saran sambhali tanku, Lanke kala raajana.

 

Prahlada pita se je bada dushta daruna,

Stambha ru bahari taku bidarila takhana.

 

Kahe Salabega hina jaati re mu jabana,

Sriranga charan tale karuachhi janana.

 

4 References he Great Muslim Devotee of Lord Jagannath Salabega

Posted Date: 11 Dec 2011 |Updated: 15-May-2020 |Category: Odisha |Author: krishna_star

My note- Slight variation about Salabega personal information are told here

Through this article I want to provide some information regarding Salabega, the great Muslim devotee of Jagannath, his life, writings and bhakti. For more information see details given in the description below.

The great devotee of Lord Jagannath Salabega was born in a Muslim family. 

His father Lalbega was a warrior in the Mughal army. It is alleged that his mother Fatima Biwi was a Converted Muslim. It is also alleged that she was a Hindu Brahmin Widow, who was kidnapped by Lalbega while returning from Puri.

He heard about Lord Krishna, Rama, Epic Ramayan & Mahabharat etc. from his mother in his tiny age. He lost his mother, when he was a kid. One day he got stricken by a severe disease and everyone lost their hope. 

While he was in bed, he listen the Bhajans of Lord Jagannath and all his mahimas. He has started praying Lord Jagannath for his cure. By the grace of Lord, he got cured.

That arouses the bhakti of Salabega towards Lord Jagannath. Because of that, he was discarded from his house and his religion. 

Finally he came to Puri and started writing bhajans of Lord Janannath. He was very curious for a glimpse of his Lord. Being a Muslim, he was not allowed to enter into the Jagannath Temple. He waited curiously for the Car Festival and took a house very near to Sri Mandir.

Two alleged great events happened because of pure bhakti of Salabega. 

First one, when he was coming to Puri from Delhi via Balasore. During that travel, he stayed near Swami-Narayan Temple at balasore for some time. 

He was not allowed inside the temple to attend the Evening prayers. In the next evening, the priest found that the Statue of Lord is disappeared. And at the same night, the king of balasore had a dream that the lord has came out of his temple for a glimpse of his great devotee staying outside the temple. Immediately after that the King has ordered for a hole in the wall of the temple, so that Salabega can see the lord. After the hole being made, the statue of lord reappeared.

The other incidence happened during Ratha Yatra. When the Chariot of Lord Jagannath came closer to the house where Salabega was staying, he started weeping. And suddenly the Chariot stopped there. 

Salabega made darshan of The Lord very happily and after that the chariot started moving. After the incidence, all came to know about the great bhakta of Lord Jagannath.

5      Bhajans of Salabega

Salabega has written a number of bhajans in the bhakti of Lord Jagannath. Some of his best bhajans are as under:

1. Ahe nila saila prabala martya barana(Most Famous)
2. Pati tapabana bana au kete belaku
3. Chal Sakhi Ame darsana Kariba
4. Eka To Bhakata
5. Jagabandhu He Gosai
6. Mo Rupa Jharana Jhare
7. Dinabandhu Daitari

Though he was a Muslim by Religion, but his endless and fruitless bhakti towards Lord Jagannath has made him a great devotee. 

He has dedicated his whole life in writing Bhajans of Lord Jagannath. After death, his body was cremated in Puri only, where he was residing.

6      Bhakta Salabega – Devotional Poet From Odisha By Odisha News Insight On Nov 9, 2015  Bhakta Salabega By Srikanta Mohanty:

"Kahe Salabega hina Jati re mu Jabana, Sriranga charana tale karuachi Janana"-the immortal lines from the devotional song of great seventeenth century devotee and poet, Salabega, still stir the hearts of millions in Odisha. 

Son of Mughal Subedar, Lalbeg, and Brahmin mother from Dandamukundapur, near Puri, Salabega, epitomizes true devotion to Lord Jagannath.  

As the fable about his birth goes, his beautiful widow mother from the religious place of Puri, was forcibly taken by his Muslim father-who was the in-charge of Odisha and then residing at Cuttack. 

Enamoured by the irresistible beauty of the widow Brahmin lady, he abducted her and later the great poet-saint was born to them.

True devotion is above caste, creed, and faith and complete surrender to Lord Jagannath could carry one beyond any suffering. The life of poet and saint proves this axiomatic truth beyond any doubt. 

As one anecdote describes, Salabega, suffered from incurable ailment and he was told by his mother to recite the prayer in praise of the Lord and his heart-felt prayer was answered as the ailment vanished.

As history is the mute witness, Salabega was not allowed by the priests to enter inside shrine of Puri. But as Lord Jaganntaha has always shown that He is above sectarianism, His boundless compassion for this great devotee does not find any parallel in history.  Legend has it that the great devotee was once held up in his trip from Vrindavana to the holy place Puri to watch his dear Lord during "Rathyatra (Car Festival) due to illness but Jagannath heard the prayer from the bottom of the heart of His ardent devotee. During the festival, the 'ratha(car)' of Jagganath stopped abruptly only to move again on the arrival of the great devotee.

 "Kabir and Salabega are two unique characters in their matchless love and dedication for the supreme Lord. More I delve in the stories about their lives, I come up with precious gems in true spirituality. We are secular right from our beginning and intolerance is only by-product of mind. 

Salabega is the true epitome of devotion towards Krishna and Jagannatha and the stories from his life still inspire the Buddhists, the Jains, the Saivitees, and almost every offshoot of our religion and others."-says Parshuram Das, whose has the passion of singing Salabega's songs right from his childhood. Muslim-born Salabeg, the Jagannath devotee who brought the Lord to the masses

The Jagannath cult is believed to be thousands of years old and has evolved over the years.