When it comes to the devotion to Lord Shiva, any kind of physical suffering pales as was seen in the case of a visually impaired Bol Bom devotee who on Monday visited Dhabaleswar temple in Athagarh of Cuttack district to do ‘jalabhisekh’ of Lord Shiva.
Nilu Swain, a resident of Dharakote in Ganjam district, is visually impaired since birth. Despite the challenges, he is continuing his higher studies. He is now a student at Ravenshaw University.
On the second Monday of the holy Shravan month, Nilu, who is an ardent Lord Shiva devotee, started his journey from Sector 7 of Cuttack CDA to Dhabaleswar shrine, carrying a ‘bahungi’ with pots filled with holy water hanging from each side across his shoulders. He covered the whole distance with the help of a white cane.
On his way to the shrine, many took pity on him and offered rides but he gently turned them down. After all, he reached the shrine and with the help of a priest, he performed ‘jalabhisekh’.
“By the grace of Lord Bholanath, I reached the shrine and performed the puja without any problem. I have a wish. If Lord Bholanath fulfills my wish, I will come to the shrine next year as well,” said Nilu.
“His problem (vision impaired) is nothing for the Lord. As he has visited the shrine, the Lord will fulfill his wish and he will be able to see,” said a priest.
Like Nilu, Ananta Bairagi and Lokesh Behera were also spotted while walking to Gupteswar temple in Koraput district. After collecting water from the Kolab River, Ananta covered the distance while performing ‘danda pranam’. Doing so, he suffered bruises on his knees. But he didn’t care. He got them bandaged at the roadside camps set up specifically for the Bol Bom devotees and continued his journey.
Similarly, Lokesh had blisters on his feet while covering the distance from his village Bandhugaon in Koraput to Gupteswar temple. He too didn’t stop on the way to take a break. He got them dressed and resumed his journey.
“I collected water on Monday evening. It took me seven days to reach the shrine. I have blisters on my feet. I cherished a wish to have a darshan of Lord Gupteswar. It is his divine grace for which I could come to the shrine,” said Lokesh.