Bimala Temple

Getting there

• By air

  Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar is the nearest airport.

• By train

  Puri Railway Station is the nearest railway station.

Book and check

Official pages only. We do not sell darshan passes or tours.

• Darshan facilities and timingsshreejagannatha.in

Rules to know

• Devotees may enter the temple up to the Jagamohana, the hall where people gather to see Vimala.
• During Durga Puja women are not allowed inside, because Vimala is believed to take a destructive form then.

Why devotees come here

Bimala Temple stands in the south-west corner of the Jagannath temple complex in Puri, Odisha. It is generally regarded as a Shakta pitha, one of the holiest temples dedicated to Devi.

Devi Vimala is enshrined in the inner sanctum, a plain chamber with no wall decorations. Vimala is considered the tantric consort of Jagannath and a guardian of the temple complex. In tantric worship, she is the Bhairavi and Jagannath is the Bhairava. Legend says Vishnu told Parvati that in Kali Yuga she would live at Puri as Vimala and eat the remnants of his food each day.

The temple faces east and is built of sandstone and laterite in the Deula style. It stands on the western corner of the Jagannath tower. Its vimana, the tower over the sanctum, is about 60 feet (18 m) tall. The shrine has four sections: the Vimana, the Jagamohana, the Natamandira and the Mukhasala. The central icon of Vimala dates to the sixth century CE, while the present structure seems to be from the ninth century under the Eastern Ganga dynasty. The Madala Panji records that Yayati Keshari, a Somavashi ruler, built the temple. Historian H.K. Mahatab writes that Vimala was worshipped in the present temple in the 8th century.

Festivals

• Ashvin (October)Durga Puja

  Celebrated for sixteen days, ending on Vijayadashami, when the titular Gajapati king of Puri worships Vimala as Durga.

Tips for your visit

• Pay respects to Vimala before worshipping Jagannath in the main temple, as devotees do.
• Rohini kunda, the sacred pool next to the shrine, is also considered holy.

Questions people ask