Salabega continues to be a very distinct devotee of Lord Jagannath. He was born on September 16, 1592, on Radhashtami at Cuttack, near Lalbeg Fort. His father was a Muslim warrior named Lalbeg, while his mother was a Brahmin widow named Lalita. Even though his mother had been forcefully converted into a Muslim due to her marriage with Lalbeg, she always continued to worship Lord Jagannath.
According to reports, Lalbeg was the Subadar of Bengal during the reign of Emperor Jahangir in 1607. He summoned his son Salabega to join hands for a battle against Afghan rebels. However, Lalbeg met with his death in the course of the battle, and Salabega got severely injured. When his state became very critical, Lalita took the aid of Hindu sadhu Bala Mukunda, who recited the Maha Mantra and applied the vibhuti on his forehead. After that, he recovered miraculously, strengthening his devotion to Lord Jagannath.
His faith apparently created an uproar among the Muslims, causing him to be kicked out of his house and his rights taken away. He travelled all alone on foot to Puri, only to be denied access to the Jagannath Temple as he was a Muslim. He even found himself without any accommodation in any of the local maths or houses. At last, he built himself a little hut using tala palm leaves at Balagandi near the Grand Road. According to people, every year during Rath Yatra, he used to wait there to see the deities.
According to people’s belief, Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra’s chariots did not move until he drew the ropes. Alternatively, there is also a story that talks about how he had saved the temple of Jagannath from an attack by Mirja Ahmed Beg, who was the Subadar of Cuttack. After making a plea to him, he protected the temple from the attacks, and King Narasimha Deva allowed him to build a permanent house for himself. When his mother passed away, he faced opposition once more when he tried to cremate her at Svargadvara. At one point, he travelled to Vrindavana, but came back to Odisha for Rath Yatra.
Salabega passed away in Puri in 1646. It is said that after his death, his body got transformed into beautiful flowers. His samadhi can be found in Balagandi, where the chariot of Lord Jagannath stops even today during the Rath Yatra. Salabega has composed at least 150 devotional songs about Lord Jagannath, Radha-Krishna, Shiva, and Maa Mangala, out of which the most famous is Ahe Nila Saila.
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