A river named Malini, a tributary of Bhargavi, flowed between the main temple of Lord Jagannath and the Gundicha temple thousands of years ago in Puri. This river ran straight through Puri’s Grand Road (Bada Danda).
Impediment to the Rath Jatra
The river Malini posed a water barrier to the continuity of passage of the chariots by land to Mausi ma, or Gundicha temple. The three deities travelled by chariots Nandi Ghosa, Tal Dhvaja and Darpa Dalana up to the southern bank of Malini river. From here the deities were taken on large boats across the river, from where they were carried to three identical chariots waiting on the northern bank.
This long drawn cumbersome process was not only exhausting and expensive, but also difficult for the servitors and devotees logistically.
Queen Saradha Devi’s Dream
The medieval era temple folktale narrates about a vision seen by the queen Saradha Devi ( the wife of Gajapati Narsingha Deva ). In the divine dream, a vision came to her, she saw The Lord Jagannath expressing His desire for an unbroken journey to Gundicha Temple. With staunch belief and strong determination she set out to fulfill The Lord’s wish.
Saradha Devi went to her husband the King, told him about her vision and requested him to facilitate an unbroken journey for The Deities by eliminating the water barrier.
Legend behind Saradha Bali
Queen Saradha Devi was determined to carry out The Lord’s wishes. Initially the king dismissed the proposal of filling up the river as absurd and impossible, but the queen was steadfast. She took funds from the royal treasury and went ahead undaunted. Seeing her commitment the devotees also followed suit and joined her.
The project was initiated by blocking the mouth of the river (Banki muhan). The dedication of the queen lit the flame of devotion in the people and they started filling up the river Malini by carrying sand from the sea, till the river was completely filled. Before the next Rath Jatra the entire riverbed was covered with smooth sand making the path of the chariots a land bound path. Thus the name Saradha bali was given to the reclaimed land by the king to highlight the queen’s tenacity and determination. The sand (bali) named after the queen Saradha.
Bajra Dhuli
The sand of Saradha Bali is revered by devotees as holy because the three dieties come to The Gundicha Temple and are worshipped on their chariots. This holy sand is smeared on the forheads by devotees, and routinely roll on it to purify themselves of negativity and their sins.
The Veracity of the legend
The mysterious legend of 13th century about the Malini river being filled up with sand was considered a folktale by historians and skeptics . However, a topographical scan by a team of scientists from IIT Kharagpur, using radar technology found a 128 meter wide buried river channel running exactly beneath the Grand Road resting all speculations and establishing the truth of the legend of “the vanishing river Malini”
A river once divided Rath Yatra. Devotion united it forever. ⭕❗⭕
The sacred Saradha Bali stands as a timeless symbol of faith, history, and unity. https://t.co/lTNRHhgCjN
— 𝐊𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢 (@Krishnavallabhi) July 16, 2026
