about
Bhattarika is a Shakta goddess of the Mahanadi bank in Baramba, Cuttack district, whose temple is one of the best known in the Athagarh region. Local tradition holds that Parashurama prayed to her here for strength against the king Sahasrarjuna, and that Rama, Sita and Lakshmana also worshipped her during their forest exile. Because the temple lies in the river's flood plain, it has been inundated in floods, and the image was moved to higher ground in 2019. Pana Sankranti, Akshaya Tritiya and Dussehra are the main festivals.
mythology
The Puranic tradition connected with the shrine is that Parashurama, facing defeat at the hands of Sahasrarjuna, the thousand-armed king, prayed to Durga. The goddess appeared at this spot and gave him her divine power. One travel account adds that Parashurama carved the image of Bhattarika with...
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