OdishaLIVE Bureau
Bhakta Salabegaan ardent devotee of Lord Jagannath
Lord Jagannath of Puri is believed to be omnipresent for his devotees and admirers. It is said that the presiding deity of Puri is forever available for his followers and does everything to ensure a peaceful survival for his supporters.
Salabega is one of the known devotional poets of 17th century, dwells in a permanent position among the devotional poets of Odisha who devoted his life for Lord Jagannath. He was the son of the Mughal subedar, Lalbegand Salabega was his only son. Lalbeg was a kind-hearted man and was enamored by Lord Jagannath. Legend has it that he was searching for a purpose to send his son to Puri, the land of Lord Jagannath.
It is said that Lord Jagannath comes out of the ratnabedi of Sri Mandir in search of his staunch devotee Salabega to give him his darshan once every year during Rath Yatra.
The evergreen devotional song “Ahe Neela Shaila”is dedicated and sung for Lord Jagannath and the ordained circumambulation of Sri Mandir. In fact, many of the devotional creations in praise of Lord Jagannath have been composed by Salabega.
