Alarnatha Temple or Alvarnaath is a temple dedicated to Vishnu and located in Brahmagiri, Orissa,nearPuri. It becomes crowded during the krishnapaksha of Ashadha,after the Snana Yatra when lord Jagannath cannot be seen in Puri. During this period, popularly known as Anasara or ‘Anavasara’ (literally meaning no opportunity to see the lord of Puri), instead of having darshan in Jagannath Temple,peoples believe that Lord Jagannath during this time manifests as Alarnath Dev, at the Alarnath temple in Brahmagiri, which is about 23 km from Puri. The temple is associated with the visit of the Alwar saint Ramanujacharya to Orissa. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu during his stay in Puri used to see Shri Jagannatha daily. During Anavasara when Lord and his siblings were taken to the secret chamber for 15 days, he was unable to see his dear Lord. So as per legend lord directed him to go to Brahmagiri and visit his another temple called Alarnath. Still today the Shila over which Mahaprabhu used to do Samkeertan is there. Many historians opine that Alwars once visited this place, but there is no mention of it in Divyaprabandam.
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