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BELKHANDI
Situated on the confluence of the
rivers Tel and Uttei, two tributaries of the river Mahanadi,
Belkhandi is a place of archaeological importance. It is 20
kilometers from Badmal, 32 km. from Kesinga and 67 km from
Bhawanipatna, the district headquarters of Kalahandi district. The
excavation of 1946 has resulted in the discovery of the lower part of
the temple consecrated to goddess Chandi and the beautiful images of
Saptamatruka (seven mother- goddesses) and Uma Maheswar.These
sculptures are dated to be of the 12th century. The ruins are
preserved in a small museum adjacent to the temple premises.
The Dhabaleswar temple at Belkhandi, consisting of a Vimana and a
Jagamohana, was built on the site of an old dilapidated temple during
the last part of the 19th century. The annual Sivaratri festival of
Lord Dhabaleswar attracts a large number of pilgrims.
Ranipur
Jharial
Located in the verdant environs of
the Titilagarh sub-division in Balangir district, the twin villages
of Ranipur-Jharial bear strong traces of their ancient heritage. This
is primarily evident in the numerous ancient temples discovered by
visiting pilgrims to 'Somatirtha' (as they called this region).
Saivism, Vaisnavism, Buddhism and Tantrism
obviously enjoyed a great deal of influence in the region. Situated
on the rocky outcrops of this region are a number of temples that are
of great interest to tourists. Located here is the hypaethral temple
of the 64 yoginis. It is one of the four famous Yogini temples in
India. The other three are located at Hirapur (near Bhubaneswar),
Khajuraho and Bheraghat (near Jabalpur).
The finest
specimen of a brick temple is the 20 metres high Indralath temple. It
is one of the tallest brick temples of ancient India
It is located near Kantabanjhi 90
KM.from K.V.1,OF.,a Shaiba Peetha is known as Tantra Peetha and
Chausathi Jogini.A big Shiv Temple is also located which is built by
Ananga Bhima Deva during 12 th century AD.
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