Maa Majhighariani, Rayagada

[amritha varshini]

From: N.Jambunathan <n.jamb...@yahoo.co.in>
Date: Sat, Jan 17, 2015 at 4:11 PM
Subject: Maa Majhighariani, Rayagada
To: 

Majhighariani Temple is an important shrine for Devi in the Rayagada township of Orissa. It is a famous shrine where many people come from Chhatisgarh, Andhra Pradesh along with people from Orissa also.

 

The legend says Devi is worshipped from centuries whereas the temple is a new one. Every Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday the temple draws a large crowd from nearby area. Dussehra in October and Chaitra parva is most famous in March–April.

 

The nearest railhead is Rayagada. People who have unfulfilled wishes come here and stay for many days for worship.

 

History Behind Goddess Majhi Ghariani of Rayagada :

Of the many places where history and myth embrace in love Rayagada in Koraput district is one. This small township nestles in the arms of green mountains. River Nagabali kisses her hem and plays about in a half circle. The J.K.Pur Paper Mill ten kilometers away and the Jeypore SugarFactory in her courtyard keep her still nights throbbing with life. Rayagada appeared as far back as the reign of King Samudragupta who tried to claim her.

 

The scars of these battles are still there at today's Champikota, a thirty minutes' ride from the town. Such is her ancient lore. Such is her modern tale. Goddess Majhighariani (Also known as Majji Gouri) is evidently the prime deity here. She commands the soulful population. The origin of the Goddess is associated with a historical event dating back to the fourth century A.D.

 

The Orissa Gazetteer says, Samudragupta invaded Mahakantara, the modern Koraput and Kalahandi tracts. King Vyaghraraj of Mahakantar braved the battle with success. People today believe that he did it with the grace of the Goddess. The Goddess continued to be worshipped since then as a form of Shakti, energy incarnate. Shakti and the mother figure are synonymous in the mind of a Hindu. Therefore almost in no time the Goddess was accepted as the universal mother.

 

Mr. N.C.Padhi, a Teacher of G.C.D High School Rayagada has done copious research on the deity. He quotes the Orissa Gazetteer that “in the fourteenth century the Silavansi king Viswanath Dev chose Rayagada as his capital and shifted his headquarters to that new town. He built an enormous mud fort at devotion of the entire Rayagada the ruins of which are still seen. Viswanath Dev also constructed rows of temples along the river Nagabali and the ruined temple called Majhi Ghariani is also attributed to the Goddess right in the middle of his palace and the temple was raised later at that very spot.

 

Hence, the name Majhi Ghariani, or the one seated in the central room. The construction of the temple (The structure as we see today) is of very recent origin, say, about forty years. At that time the railways were building a bridge over the Nagabali at a stone's throw from the shrine because at this point the river is a deep and narrow gorge going down around a hundred and odd feet.

 

To the surprise of the builders, the massive piers gave way as many as three times. And then the head Pujari one night had a dream in which the deity commanded that her temple be built first. It was raised forthwith. Legend goes that the bridge too could be completed afterwards with no further difficulty.

 

 

Near by Temple and Tourist attractions

 

Rayagada, the district of many charms, is a thrill to the searching eyes. It has the facilities to serve as a base for visiting the nearby place of interest.

 

·       Maa Majhighariani Temple is famous in Southern Division of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. Most of the devotees come from Madhyapradesh Chhatishgarh, Andhrapradesh including undivided Koraput District. Only the face of the Maa MajhiGhariani is worshiped. During Sunday, Wednesday and Friday a large number of devotees come to worship the Goddess. The temple is famous for Chaitra-Parba, i.e., March–April of every year.

·       Maa Mangla Maa Temple lies in the Raniguda area of Rayagada. it is near the hathipathar. Hatipathar is only 3 km from the district headquarters. It is a place of great scenic beauty with two waterfalls on the course of river Nagavali. The scenic beauty is impressive and the boulders here appear like huge elephants. Visitor are not welcome after heavy rains in 2006 changed the course of the Nagabali.

·       Gayatri Temple at MITS College: A beautiful temple with Goddess Maa Gayatri, Saraswati and Maa Majhighariani. Engineering students do meditation and pooja after their studies in the temple. Lot of devotees come to the temple regularly. A Spiritual Library is present under the temple ground floor. Lot of books on Indian culture are there.

·       Laxminarayan temple is at IMFA Factory, Therubali. The deities Laxminarayan, Hanuman, Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra and Lord Siva are worshiped by thousands devotees.

·       Paikapada is famous for so many Siva Lingams. The deities like Lord Jagannath, Maa Dhakineswar Kalika, Samudra, etc. are worshiped here. The car festival of Lord Jagannath is also celebrated. During Sivaratri a large number of pilgrims come to observe the function. The place is near Theruballi. It is believed that there are 99,99,999 shivlingams (only one less than 1 crore) in and around Paikapada shrine.

·       Chatikona is located about 48 km from Rayagada surrounded by a series of valleys and wooded hills of varying colours and the place is a center of pilgrimage for the temple of Mahadev. It offers picnickers gorgeous view of the waterfall. The Siva temple is the focus of hectic activities on Siva Ratri. The Dongaria Kondha of Chatikona represent the primitive section of the tribe.

·       Minajhola is only 134 km from Rayagada. It is a beauty spot of nature, has a siva temple at the confluence of three rivers. It is situated in the heart of dense forest, rich in wildlife. Sivaratri is a popular festival of this place. Though there is no good all-weather road yet, the place is worth visiting. Regular bus service is available from Rayagada and Gunupur up to Gudari. The rest 25 km road is Jeepable.

·       The Devagiri hill rises to a height of 120.2 meters. Unlike other hills it is not narrower upwards. The top of the hill is a flat platform of rectangular plain, which can be approached only from the northern side. There are 476 steps which are the unique feature of the Devagiri. At the top of the hill, there are perennial poles of water called the Ganges, Yamuna, Saraswati, Bhargavi and Indradyumna. There is a cave looking like two jaws. The Siva Lingam is enshrined at the meeting point of the jaws. Sivaratri is its biggest festival, which draws a large crowd every year. It is 50 km from Rayagada. Regular bus services are available from Rayagada to Kalyansingpur and the sacred hill is close to Kalyansingpur.

·       Padmapur houses the shrine of Manikeswari Siva. It is identified to be the seat of Dharmakirti, the Budhist-Logician-philosopher. It is a 7th-century temple. It is 90 km from Rayagada.

·       Gayatri Temple at Padampur is a beautiful temple with Goddess Maa PanchMukhi-Gayatri, Maa durga and Maa Mahalakshmi. The temple is famous for Saraswati Puja Sri panchami in January–February. It is 90 km from Rayagada.

·       Maa Markama Temple is located at Bissam Cuttack, 40 km from Rayagada. The temple got a new look and surrounded by lush green forest. Many people visit from near and far especially on Tuesdays. The town college has also been named after Goddess Markama.

·       GUMA GHATI: it is about 20 km from Rayagada it is surrounding by dence forest n very good place to see. many citizen come here for picnic. a small water fall also here

·       RAYGADA KORAPUT RAILWAY LINE: the distance form Rayagada to Koraput is about 176 km this route is full of adventure since there 36 tunnels and about 250 bridges fall in this route. this route is like konkan railway route and one can see animals while this journey. the koraput distinct is situated at the height of 870 meter from the sea level.

·       The latest attraction of Rayagada is the Hanging Bridge at Chekaguda that connects the two sides of river Nagavali, which created a deep trench when it changed its flow path in 2006. The bridge resembles the Laxman Jhola

·       Jagannath Temple at Rayagada : The temple has been rebuilt with a new look to attract the tourist mass. The Car festival is celebrated here in the month of Asadha every year.

 

Bhimshankar Jyotirlinga(Dakinyam) temple at Bhimpur

According to Linga Puran, Bhimasankar temple in Bhimpur is around 100 km from Rayagada and around 30 km from Gunupur is one of the Jyotirling, situated at the western part of the holy Mahendragiri mountains and at the river bank of Mahendratanaya (which is also believed as the Daakini area by many historian), was excavated in 1974, having quadrangular Shakti around the Linga and decorated by a Upavita as per the puran.

 

N Jambunathan - A1, Sonex Samyuktha -Appartments, - 15, Karnan Street, Rengarajapuram, Koddambakkam, - Chennai 600 024. Hand Phone - 09176159004.