Nara Narayan Mela, also known as Pakhanjore Mela, is an annual mela in Paralkot (modern

Pakhanjore Pakhanjur,(Hindi : पखांजूर) also known as Pakhanjore, is a town, nagar panchayat, and the headquarters of the eponymous tehsil in the Kanker District, Chhattisgarh, India. It is located south-west of Kapsi, the forest range headq ...

) at

Kanker district Uttar Bastar Kanker District is located in the southern region of the state of Chhattisgarh, India within the longitudes 20.6-20.24 and latitudes 80.48-81.48. The total area of the district is 6432 square kilometers. The population is 748,941. The ...

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Prade ...

. Nara Narayan Mela starts on

Makar Sankranti Makar(a) Sankranti (), also referred to as Uttarayana, Maghi, or simply Sankranti, is a Hindu observance and a festival. Usually falling on the date of January 14 annually, this occasion marks the transition of the Sun from the zodiac of Sag ...

and lasts for 8 to 10 days. Nearly 4 to5 million people gather here, from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and abroad. The business estimated to be worth millions. The followers of Swami Satyananda Paramahansa, who believed him to be incarnation of god, started this event. Originally it was celebrated only for one day on

festival.

Satyananda Sevashram Sangha

Sreemat Swami Satyananda Paramhansadeb is the founder of Nara Narayan Sevasram and Satyananda Sevashram Sangha at

. Swami Satyanand was born in Kalia,

Faridpur District Faridpur District ( bn, ফরিদপুর জেলা) is a district in south-central Bangladesh. It is a part of the Dhaka Division. It is bounded by the Padma River to its northeast. The district was named after Farīd-ud-Dīn Masʿūd, ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

(known as

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

before partition of India). He had faith in god since childhood. He abandoned his family during his early youth and adopted the path of righteousness. Due to his propensity towards faith and his efficient preaching, a large number of students began to follow him. Swamiji's followers were from many parts of the country, and they started worshipping him as a messenger of god.

First Ashram

Swami Satyananda sacrificed his home to build his first Ashram in Mathanbadhi at Bangladesh. While living with his disciple, he gave services to people for many years. After the 1947 partition of India Swami Satyananda along with his disciple came to India as refugees and settled at Paralkot (modern

). At Nara Narayan Sevsram in Pakhanjore he continued to serve people.

Swamiji's mausoleum

Swami Satyananda sacrificed his physical life and gave service to people, and he delivered the service through Nara Narayan Sevagram. The local people believed him to be an

incarnation Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It refers to the conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or the appearance of a god as a human. If capitalized, it is the union of divinit ...

of god. In 1974 Swamiji abandoned the land and took mausoleum. Today his

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

is the region's most magnificent temple. His divine body is placed in a special room below his statue. Swamiji's mausoleum in Pakhanjore

First private higher secondary school

After the 1947 partition of India the people who came as refugees faced the biggest problem of the area: their children's education. Therefore, with the support of his disciples and Nara Nararyan Sevagram, Swami Satyananda established the first private higher secondary school for children of all religions. Registered in 1979, the school is now known as Satyananda Higher Secondary School.

References

{{reflist Fairs in India Festivals in Chhattisgarh