Chandrabhaga Beach is situated three km east of the Sun temple of

Konark Konark is a medium town in the Puri district in the state of Odisha, India. It lies on the coast by the Bay of Bengal, 65 kilometres from the capital of the state, Bhubaneswar. It is the site of the 13th-century Sun Temple, also known as t ...

, in the

Puri district Puri district is a coastal district of the Odisha state of India. It has one sub-division, 11 tahasils and 11 blocks and comprises 1722 revenue villages. Puri is the only municipality of the district. Konark, Pipili and Nimapara are the thre ...

in the state of

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

, India. It is 30 km from the city of

Puri Puri () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is als ...

. Formerly Chandrabhaga was considered a place of natural cure for lepers. Chandrabhaga beach on the coast of Konark becoming India's first to get the Blue Flag certification — a tag given to environment-friendly clean beaches, equipped with amenities of international standards for tourists. Chandrabhaga coral reef, is one of the prominent living corals reef of India offshore from Chandrabhaga beach.

Ancient narratives

It is believed that Samba (

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

's son) after curing leprosy worshiped the Sun God on the river mouth of Chandrabhaga, the river dried up. It is reduced to a dry bed or a narrow trickle. It has been an ideal place for religious activity. According to another ancient narrative reference, Chandrabhag, the daughter of a sage, caught the attraction of the

Sun God A solar deity or sun deity is a deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it. Such deities are usually associated with power and strength. Solar deities and Sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. The ...

by her magical charm. The God came down to seek her hand in love. Chandrabhaga did not offer herself to the God. Maddened by romantic pangs, the God chased after a frightened Chandrabhaga, who jumped into the river and killed herself, thus succeeding in protecting her chastity. As a mark of tribute to her sacrifice, every year on the 7th day of the full-moon fortnight of Magha month, people from all over the state and outside gather to take a holy dip in the river that is reduced to a shallow pool, to offer their prayers to the Sun God and to enjoy the sunrise. Chandrabhaga's sacrifice might have been forgotten, but the place which bears her name is remembered as a holy shrine and as the place of the Rising Sun. It continues to inspire religious and meditative activities. It has been a big hunting-ground for poets, artists and lovers. A moment's pause at Chandrabhaga is believed to be a great fatigue-healer. Numerous visitors to Konark make Chandrabhaga a positive stop. A lighthouse can be found close to Chandrabhaga. Chandrabhaga is rich in marine resources. A large colony of fishermen from migration maximum people belongs to rural areas of

Vishakhapatnam , image_alt = , image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura submarine museum, ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

beside the dried river-mouth.

References

External links

Maps.google.com
{{coord, 19.854521, 86.074573, display=title Beaches of Odisha