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Bada Osha 2023: Every year on the thirteenth day of the bright fortnight of Kartik Month, or Kartika Shukla Trayodashi, Bada Osha is celebrated in Odisha. It is one of the main rituals of the Lord Dhabaleswar temple, located on the island of Mahanadi close to the Mancheswar hamlet in the Athagarh block. Every year, thousands of devotees travel to Darbaleswar to get darshans of Lord Dhabaleswar. Bada Osha usually falls on the third day of the Bhishma Panchak. Devotees gather at their local Lord Shiva shrine every year during this event to receive the Lord's darshan. The priests' community prepares the Lord's two favourite prasads known as Gajabhog and Tarana. This year, Bada Osha will be celebrated on the 25th and 26th of November 2023.

There is a significant ritual of worshipping Lord Shiva on the sacred day of Bada Osha. (Image Source: Canva)

Bada Osha 2023: Legend Behind This Sacred Festival 

Dhabaleswara is the name of the place where Lord Shiva is said to have worked a miracle. According to another legend, a burglar once took a black bull calf hostage from a village and made off for the Lord Shiva Temple. While the enraged mob waited outside the temple, the thief concealed himself and the calf within the Sanctum Sanctorum. The congregation of the temple was yelling out, and the villagers heard. The robber fervently pleaded with Lord Shiva to spare him from the mob. Lord Shiva, disguised as a saint (Sannyas), approached the crowd out of compassion and asked what was wrong. He was told by the locals that they thought the black calf and the thief were hidden in the Sanctum.

Then, to allay their anxieties, the saint bought the calf outdoors. When it was shown that the calf was white, the audience let the robber escape. When the god vanished, the robber recognised who had come to help him. Then he told the crowd the truth and begged for their forgiveness.

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He committed himself to serving God for the rest of his days. The transformation of a black calf into a white one was accomplished by Lord Shiva. Bada Osha has been observed ever since, and the Dhabaleswara temple is where people go to celebrate this significant event.