Balarama Dash, one of the great devotee of Lord Jagannath, Pancha Sakha of Odisha, was an unique literary figure. He was a renowned Odia poet of the 15th and 16th centuries (between 1472 and 1482). His birthplace was Erabanga village near Gop-Konark, Puri district. He was best known as the author of Laxmi Purana and Dandi Ramayana. It is believed that he was born around 1472 at Erabanga village, which falls under the Gop block near Konark in Puri district of Odisha. He was the son of Somanatha Mohapatra, a minister of the royal court of Gajapati Prataparudra Deva. He lived at Puri, and his house was called “Gandharva Matha.”
Today, the devotees have assembled in the form of a grand procession with the sacred soil to perform the foundation-laying ritual of the magnificent temple of Goddess Mahalakshmi, which is to be constructed at the place of the samadhi of Balarama Dash the illustrious writer of the revered book of Laxmi Purana in the entire state of Odisha. The devotees have joined the procession from every nook and corner of the different panchayats of the Gop block, carrying not only the sacred soil but also their devotion and faith for Goddess Mahalakshmi.Pipili MLA Ashrit Pattnayak attended the event, along with hundreds of devotees. The foundation stone laying ceremony was inaugurated by Odisha’s Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida.
