Ramachandi Temple is located at a spot on the banks of the Kusabhadra River where it flows into the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...

. It is only 5 km away from

Konark Konark is a medium-sized town in the Puri district in the state of Odisha, India. It lies on the coast by the Bay of Bengal, 65 kilometres from the state capital Bhubaneswar. It is the site of the 13th-century Konark Sun Temple, Sun Temple, also ...

in the

Puri District Puri district is a coastal district of the Odisha state of India. It has one Administrative subdivision, sub-division, 11 Tehsils, tahasils and 11 Block (country subdivision), blocks and comprises 1722 revenue villages. Puri is the only Nagar ...

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

, India. Goddess Ramachandi, the deity of

is thought by some to be the presiding

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

of this temple, while others thought it to be the temple of Mayadevi, wife of

Surya Surya ( ; , ) is the Sun#Dalal, Dalal, p. 399 as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchaya ...

(Sun God).

Location

The temple of Goddess ''Ramachandi'' on the river mouth of Kushabhadra river is a popular picnic spot. It is situated 7 km before Konark on the Marine drive road from

Puri Puri, also known as Jagannath Puri, () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state ca ...

. Ramachandi is popularly believed to be the presiding deity of Konark, and the most benevolent

Chandi Chandi (, ) or Chandika () is a Hindu deity. Chandika is a form of goddess Durga. She shares similarities with the Goddess Chamunda, not only in name but also in attributes and iconography. Due to these similarities, some consider them to ...

known. It is certainly more ancient than the Sun Temple at Konark. From the architectural point of view, the temple of Ramachandi is not important but from the religious point of view, it is one of the famous

Shakta pithas The Shakta pithas, also called Shakti pithas or Sati pithas (, , ''seats of Shakti''), are significant shrines and pilgrimage destinations in Shaktism, the mother goddess denomination in Hinduism. The shrines are dedicated to various forms of ...

of Odisha. Before construction of the Marine Drive road, the place was not accessible to outside visitors. However it attracted a large number of local devotees to offer

sacrifices Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks ...

or 'Bali' in the month of Ashwina.

History

A legend regarding the deity is popular among the locals.

Kalapahad Kala Pahaṛ or Kalapahada (in Odia language) was a Bengali Muslim General of the Bengal Sultanate under the reigning Karrani Dynasty. According to traditional narratives pieced together since late 18th century, Kalapahaṛ was a Bengali Brahmin ...

, the rebel Hindu Brahmin youth who got converted to Islam, vowed to destroy all the temples of Hindu worship during the 17th century. After destroying the Sun temple, Kalapahad approached Ramachandi temple to destroy it. Then Goddess Ramachandi dressed as a ''Maluni'' (a maid servant) asked Kalapahad to wait at the door till she brings water from the river for the Goddess. Kalapahad anxiously waited for a long time to get some cold water. When it was too late and the Maluni did not return he was exhausted and entered inside the temple and found the throne empty. Then he thought the Maluni took away the deity with her and with anger he followed the ''Maluni''. When he reached the bank of the Kushabhadra river he found the goddess Ramachandi floating in the middle of the river. At that time the river was outpouring, so he came back without being able to reach the middle of the river. Then Goddess Ramachandi came in dream of a ''Panda'' (priest) and told him to build a temple on the bank of the Kushabhadra river. This place is now known as Ramachandi. Throughout the year many visitors come here to get the blessing of Goddess Ramachandi and to enjoy the scenery of river Kushabhadra and Bay of Bengal. Now the temple has collapsed leaving remains of its broken walls and the empty throne. There is no historical evidence to conclude about its presiding deity.

References

External links

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Places of Worship in Orissa

{{Shakti temples in Orissa Hindu temples in Puri district