Balod (Chhattisgarh): India’s culture and tradition are full of amazing rituals and exciting practices. There are several unexplained bizarre things that are unique to the country and one among this is the Dog Temple in Chhattisgarh's Balod area.
Do you know about the dog temple in Chhattisgarh?
The story goes that there was once a banjara (gypsy) had a dog. During a famine, he had no money, so he gave up his dog as collateral to a moneylender.
One day, there was a theft in the moneylender's house. The dog saw where the thieves hid all the stolen goods and dragged the moneylender to the place, who retrieved the stolen goods.
The moneylender then wrote a letter to the banjara, expressing his gratitude for the dog, and further stated that he had written off all the debts owed by the banjara. He tied this letter to the dog's neck and sent him as a messenger to the banjara.
However, when the banjara saw his dog coming back from the moneylender's house, he beat the dog so hard with a stick that the dog died.
After the dog died, the banjara saw the letter around the dog's neck and realised what had actually happened.
In sorrow and guilt, he built a temple, in the memory of the dog called the Kukur Samadhi.
Statue of the dog made up stone is installed in the temple. The statue is worshipped in the same way God Nandi is worshipped.
Devotees offer prasad, light earthen lamps and pray for their wellbeing.
It is believed that if a dog bites someone, then the person has to pray in front of the 'kukur dev'.
After this, they do not need to have a dog bite injection and get cured themselves.
