The legend of Kriti and Vasa and the story of Debi Padahara Pond, Godavari Kund and Ganga Jamuna Kund.
The Ekamra Kshetra is surrounded by numerous waterbodies along with the temples.
The place is also known as Kritivasa Kataka (କୃତିବାସ କଟକ ) and there is a legend behind it.
Lord Shiv and Parvati were roaming around the earth once and accidentally discovered the Ekamra Kanan. The place was filled with enormous beauty with gardens and flowers and Parvati was unwilling to leave the place soon. Thus she disguised herself as a Milkmaid (ଗୋପାଳୁଣୀ) and stayed in the Ekamra kshetra.
The king of the Drumila kingdom did not have any offspring. He prayed to the gods for showering fortune and thus two sons were born and were named as Kritti and Vasa. But they became wayward and resorted to immoral activities filled with arrogance and disregard. One day they were roaming around the Ekamra Kanan and saw Devi Parvati carrying milk and curd. They forced her to marry them and she posed a condition that anybody who could carry her on his shoulders would get to marry her. When both of them kneeled down to carry her, she pressed on their shoulders with such a force that they got inside the bowels of the earth creating a big hole. This place is known as the Devi Padahara (ଦେବୀ ପାଦହରା ) pond( ପୁଷ୍କରିଣୀ ).This pond is situated right next to the Lingraj Temple.
After killing Kritti and Vasa, Devi Parvati felt enormously thirsty and to quench her thirst Lord Shiva invited all the sacred rivers to that place. Ganga and Yamuna rivers came to the Ekamra Kshetra in their tiny forms and a famous kund was built known as the “Ganga YamunaKund”( ଗଙ୍ଗା ଯମୁନା କୁଣ୍ଡ ). Also the Gangeswar and the Yamuneswar temple complex were also built in the same place. However the river Godavari could not come to quench the thirst of Devi Parvati as she was on periods. She received a curse from the Maheswara that she would be present in a tiny form in Ekamra kshetra but without her sacredness. That kund exists as the “Godavari Kund “. Adjacent to the Godavari kund there exists the “Astasambhu temple” complex which has a unique presence of “Eight Deulas”.
For this legend the Ekamra Kshetra is also known as the Krittibasa Katak.
