Majhighariani Temple

Majhighariani Temple is a shrine to a goddess in the Rayagada township of Odisha.^[1] It was built by King Vishwanath Dev Gajapati of the Suryavansh dynasty of Nandapur - Jeypore kingdom. It is believed that he made Rayagada his capital and after the construction of the temple he went on to conquer a vast dominion and expanded his kingdom from parts of Bengal to Telangana in south.^[2]

Maa Majhighariani Temple
Odia : ମା ମଝୀଘରିଆଣୀ ମନ୍ଦିର
Maa Majhighariani Temple
Religion
Affiliation	Hinduism
District	Rayagada
Deity	Maa Majhi Ghariani
Festivals	Durga Puja and Chaitra Puja
Location
Location	Rayagada town
State	Odisha
Country	India
Location in Odisha
Geographic coordinates	19°9′36.121″N 83°24′28.044″E
Architecture
Type	Kalinga Architecture
Creator	Vishwanath Dev Gajapati
Specifications
Temple(s)	7
Elevation	219 m (719 ft)
Website
https://rayagada.nic.in/tourist-place/maa-majhighariani-temple/

Visitors come to the shrine, especially on Wednesdays and Fridays and for Dussehra in October and Chaitra parva in March–April.^{[citation needed]} The nearest railhead is Rayagada.

History

According to the Odisha District Gazetteer, the 16th century Suryavanshi king Vishwanath Dev Gajapati moved his capital to Rayagada from Nandapur and built a fort on the Nagavali river, now in ruins, in which he built a temple of the Majhighariani goddess. The fort was later destroyed by the British, who used the stones to build a bridge. The current temple was built in the late 20th century.