Ramachandi Temple, is on a beautiful 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, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...

. It is only 5 km away from

Konark Konark is a medium 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 capital of the state, Bhubaneswar. It is the site of the 13th-century Sun Temple, also known as t ...

in the

Puri District Puri district is a coastal district of the Odisha state of India. It has one sub-division, 11 tahasils and 11 blocks and comprises 1722 revenue villages. Puri is the only municipality of the district. Konark, Pipili and Nimapara are the thre ...

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

, India. Goddess Ramachandi, the deity of

is thought by some to be the presiding

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...

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

Surya Surya (; sa, सूर्य, ) is the sun as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a m ...

(Sun God).

Location

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

Puri 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 capital of Bhubaneswar. It is als ...

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

Chandi Chandi ( sa, चण्डी, ) or Chandika () is a Hindu deity. Chandika is another form of Mahadevi, similar to Durga. Chandika is a powerful form of Mahadevi who manifested to destroy evil. She is also known as ''Kaushiki'', '' Katyayan ...

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

Shakti pithas The Shakti Pitha or the Shakti Peethas ( sa, शक्ति पीठ, , ''seat of Shakti'') are significant shrines and pilgrimage destinations in Shaktism, the goddess-centric denomination in Hinduism. The shrines are dedicated to various fo ...

of Odisha. A graceful Chandi, seated on a

Lotus flower ''Nelumbo nucifera'', also known as sacred lotus, Laxmi lotus, Indian lotus, or simply lotus, is one of two extant species of aquatic plant in the family Nelumbonaceae. It is sometimes colloquially called a water lily, though this more often ref ...

in a small temple half hidden by sand mounds, on the river mouth of Kushabhadra and the endless

stretched to eternity, and a thick growth of

Casuarina ''Casuarina'' is a genus of 17 tree species in the family Casuarinaceae, native to Australia, the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, islands of the western Pacific Ocean, and eastern Africa. It was once treated as the sole genus in the fami ...

plantations around is the scenic magnificence of the place. 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 the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exis ...

or 'Bali' in the month of Ashwina. The pleasant sight has always fascinated young lovers, students and picnickers from far and wide. However, after the construction of the Marine drive road, the place has become very easily accessible. Regular crowd of pleasure seekers both from the state, neighboring states and distant places come here. Ramachandi coral reef, is one of the prominent living corals reef of India offshore from Ramachandi temple.

History

A legend regarding the deity is popular among the locals.

Kalapahad Kalapahar ( bn, কালাপাহাড়; died 24 April 1583), also known by his daak naam Raju ( bn, রাজু), was a military general of the Sultanate of Bengal under the Karrani dynasty. He is credited for conquering Orissa, which re ...

, 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 scenic beauty 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