Maa Manikeswari Temple

Getting there

• By train

  The station opened in 2012 and is on the Lanjigarh-Junagarh line. Four trains currently run from it to Bhubaneswar, Raipur, Visakhapatnam and Sambalpur.

Why devotees come here

Maa Manikeswari Temple is in Bhawanipatna, the headquarters town of Kalahandi district in Odisha. Maa Manikeswari is the primary deity of the Kalahandi royal family, and the temple is well known in Odisha.

Maa Manikeswari is the primary deity of the Kalahandi royal family. The deity is also tied to the Chakrakota and Paralakhemundi kingdoms and to the Gadapur Ganga family. Kalahandi's history links her with wealth, and her name is tied to 'Manik'. Legend says the Gadapur Ganga family, the hereditary custodians of the deity, refused to let her go when a prince asked to take her. They allowed him to take her umbrella, a symbol of the deity, instead.

The deity was installed in Bhawanipatna around 1849, when the capital moved from Junagarh. Uditnarayan Deo laid the foundation of the present temple, and Brajamohan Deo completed it in 1947. Some sources name Thumaul Rampur as her Adipitha, her original seat, and say she was brought from there.

Bhawanipatna stands at an average elevation of 248 metres (814 feet). It sits among hills and plateaus, with the Eastern Ghats on its eastern side. The region became known for the grand Maa Manikeswari Chaitra Jatra.

Festivals

• September or October, around Durga PujaChhatar Jatra

  Celebrated in Bhawanipatna, the town where the temple stands.

• Dates not given. Ask the temple before you travel.Maa Manikeswari Chaitra Jatra

  The grand jatra that made the Kalahandi region famous.

Tips for your visit

• Bhawanipatna has numerous temples to different deities, so there are other shrines in the town to visit.
• The Durga Mandap, known as the Big Ben of Bhawanipatna, is a town landmark you can use to find your way.

Questions people ask