Sri Charchika Devi Temple – Banki
Sri Charchika Devi Temple is located in Banki town of
Cuttack district of Odisha State.
It is situated on top of a small hillock Ruchika Parvata
on the banks of the river Renuka.
Maa Charchika Devi is an incarnation of Goddess Shakti.
The presiding deity is an
eight-armed Goddess Chamunda, locally known as Charchika. She displays Khadga,
Shula, Katari, and Varadamudra in her four right hands whereas the four left
hands represent a severed head, Blood cup, Damru, and a finger of the remaining
hand soaked in blood.
The temple is facing in the East direction. Simple Kalingan traditional style of mandir construction has
been adapted to build the temple. The
temple has a pidha vimana, jagamohana, and a wooden mandapa known as the "sunyavahini
mandapa" of the impoverished Kalingan order. Stone is used for the
construction of the temple and the entire surface is thickly lime plastered and
white-washed. The ceiling of the mandapa is made of wood whereas the pillars
are in stone. The ceiling of the mandapa is profusely carved and painted. The
wooden ceiling of the mandapa is filled with episodes from Bhagavata Purana
with the intervening decoration of animals and birds like - elephants, ducks, parrots,
peacocks, etc., floral motifs, lotus medallions, scroll and jali works, animal
hunting, horse rider, gaja-vidalas, makaramukha,mithuna, and maithuna images.
Besides, the parsvadevata niches enshrine four-armed Chamunda, four-armed
Mahisasuramardini Durga, and an eight-armed Chamunda on the north, west, and
southern side respectively.
It is a general belief
that the idol of Maa Charchika was designed by the Lord Parshuram itself. On an
evening when he was taking a bath in river Mahanadi, he saw a stone lifting
and falling continuously. He approached the stone and found a woman's face on it.
He immediately lifted the stone and kept it with him. Properly established it
at a place and worshipped. Maa Charchika dreamt of him and ordered him to construct
her temple.
This temple was built
during the 19th century.
The temple is most
frequently visited at the time of Durga Puja, a festival in October when thousands of devotees come to be blessed. Kumar Purnima, a festival celebrated 5 days after Dusshera, is
very famous here.
Timings
6 am to 12 noon
2 pm to 6 pm
How to reach the Temple
64 km from Bhubaneswar
Nearby Temples
Bhattarika Temple – 58 km.
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