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Maa Biraja Temple, Jajpur

Jajpur town, on the Baitarani (Vaitarani) river, Jajpur district · Goddess Biraja, a two-armed Mahishasuramardini form of Durga; Sati's navel is said to have fallen here

The navel Shakti Peetha of Odisha, where a two-armed Durga stands over the buffalo demon and pilgrims offer pinda at Nabhigaya.

The Biraja temple stands in Jajpur, the old Biraja Kshetra, beside the Baitarani river, about 120 km from Bhubaneswar. Goddess Biraja is worshipped as a two-armed Mahishasuramardini and is counted among the Shakti Peethas, where the navel (nabhi) of Sati is said to have fallen. Inside the compound is the Nabhigaya well, where Hindus offer pinda (rice balls) for their ancestors. The temple is also known for its sixteen-day autumn Durga Puja and its car festival.

Timings

• Temple open: approx. 5:30 AM to 10 PM with a break in the afternoon (listings vary; one older news report gave 6 AM to 5 PM during COVID). Confirm at the temple.

Daily rituals

• Morning and evening – Vedic and Tantric worship: The goddess is worshipped daily by hereditary servitors (Pani, Panigrahi and Kara sevayats). The chief priest (Patimishra) of the Pati family sets the daily pattern with the Trust Board and Pandita Sabha.
• Daily – Offerings by attendants: A gardener supplies flowers, the Behera blows the conch, a drummer plays, and a chamara bearer waves the fan (temple website).

Darshan types and costs

• General darshan – Free. Crowded during the sixteen-day Durga Puja, on Triveni Amavasya and Savitri Amavasya.

Sevas and costs at Maa Biraja Temple, Jajpur

Nabhigaya pinda offering – Check at the temple

When: Daily

A priest guides you through a short ritual at the Nabhigaya well with rice balls (pinda), sesame and water for your ancestors. The temple arranges priests and materials, according to the temple website.

How to book: Walk-in. Ask at the Trust Board office for authorised priests.

Persons allowed: Family

Do not agree a price on the road. Ask the Trust Board office.

Chandi path (Devi Mahatmya reading) – Check at the temple

When: On special days

The Devi Mahatmya is read in the Chandi Mandapa in front of the Jagamohana.

How to book: Ask at the Trust Board office.

Persons allowed: Family

No price list published online.

How to book darshan

Darshan is walk-in. The Trust Board website offers donations online (UPI or card) and lists the office phone 06728-223900. We did not find an online puja-booking system.

Biraja Mandira Trust Board – donations

1. For donations, use only the Trust Board's website maabiraja.com/donate.html, or the office at Devidwar, Jajpur 755007.
2. For rituals, ask at the Trust Board office and use authorised priests.
3. The Trust Board phone is 06728-223900.

Booking safely

• Priests or helpers on the road who quote high prices for Nabhigaya rites. Ask the Trust Board office for authorised priests.

Darshan is free and walk-in. The Trust Board postal address is Devidwar, Jajpur 755007; phone 06728-223900.

Prasadam and offerings

• Temple prasad – Check at the temple. Offered by the servitors. No official price list was found.

• Pinda at Nabhigaya: Rice balls offered for ancestors in the Nabhigaya well in the compound.
• Chita (gold forehead ornament): On Chitalagi Amavasya in Shravana (July to August) the goddess wears a chita and receives chita pitha, a special cake (temple website).

Dress code

Modest, traditional clothes. Footwear is removed before the compound. Temple rules on non-Hindu entry are not stated on the temple website; ask at the entrance.

Temple etiquette

• Dress modestly and be patient with the queue on festival days.
• Photography is not permitted in some listings; ask at the entrance.
• Use only the temple's authorised priests for Nabhigaya rites.

Why it matters

The Biraja Kshetra Mahatmya, linked to the Brahmanda Purana, tells that Brahma performed a yajna on the bank of the Baitarani, and the goddess rose from the Garhapatya fire. She asked to be named Biraja.

Tantric tradition counts Jajpur as the Nabhi Peetha, where Sati's navel fell. The temple is described as one of Odisha's main Shakti centres, and the goddess is worshipped with Vedic and Tantric rites.

Jajpur is also a Pitru Tirtha (place for ancestors). The temple website says that after the demon Gaya laid down his body for Brahma's sacrifice, his head lay at Gaya in Bihar, his navel at Jajpur and his feet at Pithapuram. So Nabhigaya at Jajpur is one of three Gaya tirthas.

The idol is unusual: a two-armed Mahishasuramardini with a trident in her right hand, lifting the buffalo's tail with her left. The temple website says the lion is absent in the image and that her crown carries Ganesha, a lingam and yoni, the crescent moon and a snake.

Legends

Brahma's yajna

At the time of Brahma's yajna on the bank of the Baitarani, the goddess Parvati as Adi Shakti arose from the sacrificial fire. She took the form of a two-armed Mahishasuramardini and asked to be called Biraja. Brahma prayed that she stay as the consort of Shiva in the region, and from her mind came nine Durgas, eight Chandikas and sixty-four Yoginis (temple website).

Gaya and Nabhigaya

The demon Gaya, devoted to Vishnu, gave his pure body for a sacrifice. Vishnu steadied his body with his mace. Gaya asked that the three places where his head, navel and feet lay become pitru tirthas, and it was granted. At the navel, in Biraja Kshetra, Brahma performed his yajna.

The Shakti Peetha story

After Sati's death at Daksha's yajna, parts of her body are said to have fallen at many places. The navel fell at Biraja Kshetra, which Tantric texts call Nabhi Peetha.

History

Epic times: Viraja Tirtha

The temple's own history page says the Mahabharata (Vana Parva) mentions Viraja Tirtha as a sacred place of Vedic sacrifice.

4th century CE: Stone image

In the Gupta period, the temple website says a stone image of two-armed Mahishasuramardini was installed on the Baitarani bank.

10th to 11th century: Somavamsi temple

Yayati II (Chandihara Yayati) is said to have built a beautiful temple. The Somavamsis also began the car festival of the goddess.

1568: Destruction

The temple website says the Somavamsi temple was destroyed in the Afghan conquest of 1568.

19th century: Present temple

In the first half of the 19th century the Jajpur zamindar Sudarsan Mohapatra rebuilt the temple. It is about 70 feet high. The compound wall was built by a saint, Bhikari Das, about 110 years before the website was written.

Architecture

The main temple is about 70 feet high, built on the original lotus-shaped pedestal (padmapitha), with a pidha-style Jagamohana. A Chandi Mandapa in front is used for reading the Devi Mahatmya (Saptashati Chandi).

The walls carry fragments of sculpture from the 4th to 15th centuries. The compound wall has Bhaumakara-period sculptures (8th to 10th century) and a fine lion gate.

Several temples stand in the compound: Nabhigaya, Jupeswar, Isaneswar, Mrityunjayeswar, Bhusandeswar and Bagalamukhi, along with many Shiva lingas.

What to see

• The Mahishasuramardini image: The two-armed goddess of the Gupta or pre-Gupta period, without the usual lion.
• Nabhigaya: The sacred well in the compound where pinda is offered to ancestors.
• Lion gate: The decorated entrance in the compound wall.
• Baitarani river and Dasaswamedha ghat: Where pilgrims bathe, especially on Varuni day, and offer pinda (temple website).
• Sri Varaha temple: A temple at Jajpur built by Prataparudra Dev (temple website).

How to cover the temple

The usual route is the lion gate, darshan of Biraja, the shrines in the compound, and (if you wish) the Nabhigaya rite for ancestors. A dip in the Baitarani at Dasaswamedha ghat is traditional on Varuni.

1. Lion gate: Enter through the lion gate in the compound wall, which has sculptures of the 8th to 10th century.
2. Goddess Biraja: Have darshan of the two-armed Mahishasuramardini in the main temple (about 70 ft high).
3. Other temples: See the shrines of Jupeswar, Isaneswar, Mrityunjayeswar, Bhusandeswar and Bagalamukhi.
4. Rites for ancestors: Offer pinda at the Nabhigaya well in the compound with an authorised priest.
5. Baitarani: Visit the ghat on the Baitarani near Dasaswamedha for a ritual bath.

Customs and traditions

Pinda offering at Nabhigaya

A rite where rice balls are offered for ancestors at the Nabhigaya well.

Jajpur is one of three Gaya tirthas: Gaya (head), Jajpur (navel) and Pithapuram (feet), according to the temple's page.

Done in the compound with a priest. Ask for the charge at the Trust Board office.

Varuni bath

A holy dip in the Baitarani on the thirteenth day of the dark fortnight of Chaitra when it falls with the Shatabhisha star.

The day is considered sacred for bathing near Dasaswamedha ghat.

Free. Goddess Biraja is also bathed with Baitarani water that day.

Sixteen-day Durga Puja and car festival

From Ashwin Krishna Ashtami to Mahanavami, with a nine-day car festival of the goddess.

A car festival of the goddess is rare in Odisha, according to the temple's page.

Large crowds. Plan well ahead.

For elders and differently-abled visitors

Access: Easy. The temple is on level ground with no climb. The old town lanes are narrow and crowded in the Durga Puja fortnight, so go on a weekday.

• No climb. Short, level walks between the lion gate, the main temple and Nabhigaya.
• We found no published senior or wheelchair queue. Ask the Trust Board office on 06728-223900.

Waiting time

Short on weekdays; not published.

Heaviest in the sixteen-day Durga Puja (Panchami, Mahashtami, Mahanavami, Dashahara) and on Savitri Amavasya, according to the temple website.

Best time to visit

October to February. The Durga Puja (September to October) is the main festival and very crowded.

Festivals

Triveni Amavasya (New-moon day in Magha (January to February))

The goddess's birthday. She is dressed in yellow as Savitri and worshipped with the Gayatri mantra.

Dola Purnima (Phalguna full moon (February to March))

The representative deity is taken to the Dolavedi, sprinkled with red powder, and the new almanac is read.

Varuni (Chaitra (March to April))

Pilgrims bathe in the Baitarani near Dasaswamedha ghat, offer pinda and have darshan.

Savitri Amavasya (Jyeshtha new moon (May to June))

Married women pray for their husbands' long life. Heavy rush.

Autumn Durga Puja (sixteen days) (From Ashwin Krishna Ashtami to Mahanavami (September to October))

The main festival, with Vedic and Tantric worship. The temple is most crowded on Panchami, Mahashtami, Mahanavami and Dashahara.

Ratha Yatra of the Goddess (Nine days from Pratipada in Ashwin (September to October))

The festival image is taken round the compound each day in the Simhadhvaja chariot, and ends with the midnight Lakhavindha (arrow-shooting) rite.

How to reach Maa Biraja Temple, Jajpur

• By air: Biju Patnaik International Airport, Bhubaneswar, about 120 km (temple website).
• By rail: Jajpur-Keonjhar Road station on the South Eastern Railway, about 32 km (temple website), then bus or taxi. Cuttack and Bhubaneswar are larger railheads.
• By road: From Bhubaneswar the route runs along the national highway to Jajpur (about 120 km); Cuttack is about 90 km. Buses go from Cuttack to Jajpur town.

Road safety

An easy drive on the national highway from Bhubaneswar or Cuttack to Jajpur town. Crowds and parking in the old town are the issue, mainly during the sixteen-day Durga Puja.

Town roads in Jajpur to Devidwar, where the temple stands beside the Baitarani river. Narrow lanes near the lion gate.

Full road-safety guide

Where to stay

Biraja Panthasala is a pilgrim lodge beside the temple. The PWD bungalow and circuit house are in Jajpur. Hotels are in Jajpur Road, Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.

• Biraja Panthasala – Check at the Trust Board office. Pilgrim accommodation beside the temple (temple website). Phone the office on 06728-223900.

Suggested plan

Half day

• Reach Jajpur in the morning and walk to the lion gate.
• Have darshan of Biraja, then the smaller shrines.
• If you want, do the Nabhigaya rite with an authorised priest.
• Walk to the Baitarani ghat before lunch.

Tips

• Visit on a weekday outside the Durga Puja fortnight.
• Pay only at the Trust Board's counters and on its website.
• Allow extra time on Savitri Amavasya and Triveni Amavasya.

Frequently asked questions

What is unusual about the idol?

The temple website says the goddess is a two-armed Mahishasuramardini, without the lion, and her crown has Ganesha, a linga and yoni, a crescent moon and a snake.

Is Jajpur the same as Jajpur Road?

No. Jajpur is the temple town. Jajpur-Keonjhar Road is a railway station about 32 km away.

Temples nearby

• Lingaraj Temple, Bhubaneswar – Old Town, Bhubaneswar (Ekamra Kshetra), Khordha district, Odisha (about 105 km by road)
• Shri Jagannath Temple, Puri – Grand Road (Bada Danda), Puri, Odisha (about 156 km by road)
• Konark Sun Temple – Konark, Puri district, Odisha (about 160 km by road)
• Maa Tara Tarini Temple – Kumari Hills, on the Rushikulya river near Purusottampur, Ganjam district (about 252 km by road)

More Devi (Durga & Shakti) temples

• Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam (Kanaka Durga Temple) – Indrakeeladri hill, Vijayawada, NTR district
• Arulmigu Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple – Madurai, Madurai district
• Sri Chamundeshwari Temple – Chamundi Hills, Mysuru, Mysuru district
• Gangotri Temple (Shri Ganga Mata Mandir) – Gangotri, Uttarkashi district, on the Bhagirathi river (approx. 99–100 km from Uttarkashi)
• Yamunotri Temple (Shri Yamuna Mata Mandir) – Yamunotri, Uttarkashi district, below the Bandarpunch massif, approx. 6 km above Janki Chatti
• Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine (Holy Cave), Trikuta Hills – Trikuta hills above Katra, Reasi district, Jammu & Kashmir

All Devi (Durga & Shakti) temples

Managed by

• Commissioner of Endowments, Odisha (Odisha Hindu Religious Endowments Commission)

Official website: maabiraja.com

Sources

• Biraja Mandira Trust Board – about, Trust Board and officers
• Biraja Mandira Trust Board – history
• Biraja Mandira Trust Board – the temple
• Biraja Mandira Trust Board – fairs and festivals
• Biraja Mandira Trust Board – Nabhigaya
• Biraja Mandira Trust Board – geography and how to reach

Last checked: 2026-10. Timings and fees change – confirm with the temple before you travel.