Saptasajya is a village in

Dhenkanal district Dhenkanal district is one of the 30 districts of the state of Odisha in Eastern India. Geography Dhenkanal district is one of the centrally located districts in Odisha. It lies between Longitude: 85° 58' to 86° 2' East and Latitude: 20° 29' ...

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. Important establishments include ICAR Saptasajya Mango germplasm bank, High School, Teakwood garden and Bee Farm.

Geography

This small village is situated at a distance of from Dhenkanal and is well connected by road transport. The government constructed the road in 1982. Nearby villages include Badagila, Sadeibereni, Badrapalli, Kamning, Padmanavpur and Patrabhag.

Demography

According to the 2011 census, there are total 268 families residing in Saptasajya comprising 1091 persons. With 548 males and 543 females, the sex ratio of Saptasajya (991 women per 1000 men) which is higher than

state average of 979. However, among children Saptasajya has 809 girls per 1000 boys, vastly lower than Odisha average of 941. Saptasajya village has higher literacy rate compared to Odisha. In 2011, literacy rate of Saptasajya village was 85.81% compared to 72.87% of Odisha. Male literacy stands at 88.02% while female literacy rate was 83.65%.

Mythology

Mythologically this place finds its mention in many legends. According to folklore, it derives the name from the surrounding seven hills. There is a different folklore that the

Saptarishi The Saptarishi () are the seven rishis of ancient India who are extolled in the Vedas, and other Hindu literature. The Vedic Samhitas never enumerate these rishis by name, although later Vedic texts such as the Brahmanas and Upanisads do s ...

had their ashramas in this place thereby giving the place its name as the ''Seven Beds'' or ''Seven Homes''. There is also a mythological story, that,

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

during his exile or had spent seven days in this spot. Another folklore goes that the

Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledge ...

s during their 12 years of exile and one year of Agyata Vasa (incognito exile) had chosen these mountains for shelter

Tourism

Saptasajya is a popular tourist hub for offbeat genre crowd who want to relax and move away from busy life. It is advised in most tourism sites that a daily excursion to the village from nearby tourism hub Dhenkanal is the best option. There are no hotels or suitable urban accommodation provision noted in the village. The reserve forest boasts of rich flora and fauna and is a good retreat from busy urban life. Nearest airport is Biju Patnaik Airport at

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango trees (''ekamra'')). Bhubaneswar is ...

. The nearest bus and railway station is at Dhenkanal.

Temples

Apart from the natural environment of the place, there are many old temples that attract visitor attention. There is one particular Raghunath temple complex with main deity being

that attracts tourists and locals alike. Inside the temple complex

Annapurna Annapurna (; ne, अन्नपूर्ण) is a mountain situated in the Annapurna mountain range of Gandaki Province, north-central Nepal. It is the tenth highest mountain in the world at above sea level and is well known for the diffic ...

temple was constructed in 1982, the 1st floor

Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In this tra ...

temple in 1985 and the Surya Narayan temple in 1990. The temples of Rameswaram

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

Ganesha Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva_(Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is ...

Mahavir Mahavira (Sanskrit: महावीर) also known as Vardhaman, was the 24th ''tirthankara'' (supreme preacher) of Jainism. He was the spiritual successor of the 23rd ''tirthankara'' Parshvanatha. Mahavira was born in the early part of the 6t ...

, and the

Navagraha Navagraha are nine heavenly bodies and deities that influence human life on Earth according to Hinduism and Hindu astrology. The term is derived from ''nava'' ( sa, नव "nine") and ''graha'' ( sa, ग्रह "planet, seizing, laying hold of, ...

temple with one room for each graha are also present.

Mahakali Mahakali () is the Hindu goddess of time and death in the goddess-centric tradition of Shaktism. Similar to Kali, Mahakali is a fierce goddess associated with universal power, time, life, death, and both rebirth and liberation. She is the cons ...

, Mata

Saraswati Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati. The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a g ...

, Sri Nrushingha temple are conceived to be built in the holy complex.

Saptasajya Wildlife Sanctuary

The Saptasajya Wildlife Sanctuary (alternatively, Saptasajya Reserve Forest) is a relatively small protected forest reserve of in the Chota Nagpur Plateau region. It is a mixed

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

forest dominated by the Sal tree. It got officially recognized as a sanctuary in 1970. The fauna mainly consists of wild goats, buffaloes, cows, leopard and a variety of birds.

Gallery

File:Saptasajya Road.JPG, Scenic Saptasajya Road File:Saptasajya Teakwood Garden.JPG, Teakwood Garden File:Saptasajya Reserve Forest.JPG, Saptasajya Reserve Forest File:Saptasajya High School.JPG, Saptasajya High School

References

External links

{{Protected areas of Odisha Villages in Dhenkanal district Tourist attractions in Odisha Landforms of Odisha Eastern Highlands moist deciduous forests