Chandrabhaga Beach, Konark: Close to the famous Sun temple (3 kms) of Konark -- a World Heritage Monument, it is a lovely and quiet beach. Rated as one of the finest beachs with a long stretch of clean sands and cool blue sea making rapids in the rolling waves, the beach has its own lovely serenity.When the sky is clear, watching the golden sun rising above the blue waters is a life time experience. In the past river Chandrabhaga joined the sea here but now only the confluence remains to be seen. Religious people in large number take holy dip in this confluence on the Magha Saptami day which falls in February-March every year. There is also a functional light house here.

Chandrabhaga Beach is situated in the coastal village of Chandrabhaga in Puri District of Orissa. It is situated on the Bay of Bengal, at a distance of 3 km from the World Heritage Site of the Sun Temple of Konark. Considered among the finest beaches along the eastern coast of India, Chandrabhaga Beach is popular among solitude seekers and pilgrims. Chandrabhaga Beach derived its name from the sacred River Chandrabhaga, which once flowed through the precincts of the Sun Temple of Konark, towards the Bay of Bengal. Chandrabhaga Beach used to be the river mouth of River Chandrabhaga in the past. Though River Chandrabhaga is reduced in its volume today, it retains its mythological value and holiness.

According to a legend, Chandrabhaga, the daughter of a sage, killed herself by drowning in the river to protect her chastity from Surya, the Sun God. It is believed that Lord Surya, in repentance, blessed the river with medicinal properties and named it as 'Chandrabhaga'. It is believed that a dip in River Chandrabhaga can cure leprosy. Prince Shambha, the son of Lord Krishna, was cured of leprosy by Lord Surya on the river mouth of Chandrabhaga. People of Orissa visit Chandrabhaga Beach on Magha Saptami day to take a holy dip in the confluence of River Chandrabhaga and the Bay of Bengal and offer special prayers to Lord Surya. Chandrabhaga Mela is yet another cultural activity held at Chandrabhaga Beach, which is a seven day fair to honour Lord Surya.

Chandrabhaga Beach plays an important role in the cultural and traditional identity of Orissa. It

Source: www.holidayiq.com

This footage is part of the professionally-shot broadcast stock footage archive of Wilderness Films India Ltd., the largest collection of HD imagery from South Asia. The Wilderness Films India collection comprises of tens of thousands of hours of high quality broadcast imagery, mostly shot on HDCAM 1080i High Definition, HDV and XDCAM. Write to us for licensing this footage on a broadcast format, for use in your production! We are happy to be commissioned to film for you or else provide you with broadcast crewing and production solutions across South Asia. We pride ourselves in bringing the best of India and South Asia to the world... Reach us at rupindang [at] gmail [dot] com and [email protected].