Biraja

Biraja is the presiding goddess of Jajpur, on the Vaitarani river, worshipped as Durga in the form of Mahishasuramardini and counted among Odisha's foremost Shakta pithas. Her image is unusual in having two arms: with one hand she drives a spear into the buffalo demon and with the other she pulls his tail, one foot resting on a lion and the other on the demon. Tradition holds that the navel of Sati fell here, making Jajpur Biraja Kshetra. Her main observance is the sixteen-day Sharadiya Durga Puja.

Temple tradition holds that the navel of Sati fell at Jajpur, which is why it is called Biraja Kshetra. The Tantra Chudamani places the navel in the Utkala kingdom, a placing linked with this site. A well in the compound, Nabhi Gaya, is used for ancestral rites. One tradition says the goddess took...