Mahamaya Temple, Ratanpur

Getting there

• By air

  Fly to Bilaspur Airport, which was inaugurated in March 2021 and has direct flights to Jabalpur, Delhi and Prayagraj.

• By train

  The nearest railway station is Bilaspur, on the South East Central Railway. Ratanpur is about 25 km from there.

• By road

  Ratanpur lies on National Highway 130 towards Ambikapur. The main temple is half a kilometre off that highway, and a bus or taxi from Bilaspur station goes directly to Ratanpur.

Rules to know

• Remove your shoes at the free shoe-care stall run by the Trust before you go in for darshan.
• Cleanse your feet, face, hands and mouth before you enter the temple.

Why devotees come here

Mahamaya Temple stands in Ratanpur, a town in Bilaspur district, Chhattisgarh. Mahamaya, also called Kosaleswari, was the presiding deity of Dakshin Kosal, the region now called Chhattisgarh. The temple is one of the 52 Shakta pithas, shrines of Shakti.

Mahamaya is the presiding deity of Dakshin Kosal, the region that is now Chhattisgarh. Devotees also call her Kosaleswari. Legend says the temple stands where King Ratnadeva had a darshan of Kali. The main statue is a dual image: Mahishasur Mardini in front, and a figure behind that is believed to be Saraswati.

Ratanpur was originally known as Ratnapura. The town served as the seat of the Kalachuri rulers of Ratnapura, a line that branched off from the Kalachuris of Tripuri. Sources date the first temple to the 12th to 13th century. The present building was built in Vikram Samvat 1552, which is 1492 CE.

The temple is built in Nagara style. It faces north, beside a large water tank. Its guardian is Kalbhairva, whose own shrine stands on the approach road from the highway.

Festivals

• Twice a yearNavratri

  Hundreds of thousands of devotees visit the town during each Navratri, and the temple stays open until midnight.

• All nine days of NavratriKalashas

  The kalashas, sacred pots, are kept alive for the whole nine days.

Tips for your visit

• Mahamrityunjaya Panchmukhee Shiv Mandir and Kanthi Dewal are among the other temples around the main temple.
• Kalbhairva's shrine stands on the approach road to the temple, off the highway.

Questions people ask