In the present times, prejudice and disharmony rule the world. The story of Bhakta Salbeg stands as a testimony to the universal values of love, peace and tolerance.
Lord Jagannath Tales 4
His mother nursed him while continuously chanting the name of Lord Jagannath
Salbeg’s mother was a Brahman widow. A Muslim soldier married her forcefully. Salbeg grew up to become a soldier like his father and joined Aurangzeb’s army.
Once he was severely injured in battle. His mother nursed him while continuously chanting the name of Lord Jagannath.
After regaining his health, Salbeg became an ardent devotee of Lord Jagannath and began composing and singing bhajans in praise of the Lord. He settled down in Vrindavan.
Once desirous of seeking the blessings of his Lord he went to the temple at Puri but was not allowed to enter since he was a Muslim. Sometime later he again left for Puri to catch a glimpse of his Lord when he came out on the streets during the annual Rath Yatra. Salbeg fell ill on the way and prayed to the Lord to wait for him so that he could get his divine darshan. The chariot of the Lord waited till Salbeg arrived. Only after the great devotee got the darshan of his master and touched the ropes of the chariot did it move.
Even to this day the chariot stops at exactly the same point where it had halted for Bhakta Salbeg long ago. Another tribute to the great disciple’s devotion is the fact that the bhajans composed by Bhakta Salbeg are an integral part of the Rath Yatra celebrations.
Only after the great devotee got the darshan of his master and touched the ropes of the chariot did it move.
These stories have been republished from the book Tales of Lord Jagannath by Ramendra Kumar. This book is available on Amazon.in and has been published by: B K Publications Pvt. Ltd.
The opinions shared by the writer is his personal opinion and does not reflect the opinion of Learning and Creativity Magazine.
Ramendra Kumar (Ramen) is an award-winning writer, performance storyteller and inspirational speaker with 49 books. His writings have been translated into 32 languages and included in 26 textbooks and many anthologies in various countries. Ramen has written across all genres ranging from picture books to adult fiction, satire, poetry, travelogues, biographies and on issues related to parenting and relationships.
His writings have been published by the major publishing houses in India. His books brought out by National Book Trust (NBT), India have notched up sales of more than 4.9 lakh copies in just one year.
Ramen has been invited to several international literary festivals as well as Indian events such as Jaipur Litfest and seminars organised by Sahitya Akademi and IGNOU. The author has won a total of 41 awards in the competition for writers of children’s literature organised by Children’s Book Trust (CBT) over the years, which is among the highest by any writer.
Ramen was chosen as the ‘Author and Storyteller of the Year’ (2022), on ‘Talking Stories’, London, UK’s number one Radio Programme dedicated to the art of storytelling. He was nominated as a Jury Member for the Best Children’s Author Category of The Times of India’s ‘Women AutHer’ Awards, 2020. Ramen was also selected as a mentor for the Scholastic Writers Academy.
An alumnus of the prestigious Hyderabad Public School (HPS), Ramen is an Engineer & an MBA. He and his inspiration, his wife Madhavi, were General Managers at SAIL, when they took Voluntary Retirement to pursue their respective passions. Their children are bonsai celebrities in their own right. While Ankita is a youth icon and a travel blogger with an Instagram following of 296 K, Aniket creates cool Apps and designs covers for his dad’s books.
Ramen is now a Cancer warrior and an inspiration to many.
His website is www.ramendra.in and he has a page devoted to him on Wikipedia.
All Posts of Ramendra Kumar
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One thought on “The Saga of Salbeg”
Prasanta kumar mangaraj
I am prasanta kumar mangaraj from odisha
Thanks for your contribution for children’s literature.
I am prasanta kumar mangaraj from odisha
Thanks for your contribution for children’s literature.