| The Sarsankha
tank now silted up is said to have been excavated by Raja Sasanka Deva, of the Pandava
family while on his way to Jagannath.The palm-leaf chronicles of the Jagannath temple
mention one Sarsankha Deva as a king of the Ganga dynasty. Sasanka was a powerful king of
Gaur in the early part of the 7th century A.D., whose territory extended as far south as
Ganjam. This tank is 5,000 feet long and 2,500 feet broad. It appears that the tank was
really excavated by Sasanka but local patriotism has ascribed the honor to Sarsankha about
whom there is no historicity. The name Dantan has a
story. It is said that Lord Chaitanya on his way to Jagannath had brushed his teeth here
with a piece of twig. The piece of twig with which teeth are brushed is known as Dantan in
Bengali. According to local tradition, that is why, the place is called Dantan. But this
story does not appear to be correct. There are historical facts to suggest that Dantan was
already a big village when Lord Chaitanya passed
through Dantan.
Even the biographies of Lord Chaitanya distinctly mention
this. The story of the place getting its name from Lord Chaitanya's brushing his teeth
here is an example of local loyalty to Vaishnavism. |
