Ranihat Rajarajeshwari Temple, Uttarakhand

Address

Ranihat Rajarajeshwari Temple, Uttarakhand

Ranihat, Srinagar Town,

Pauri Garhwal District,

Uttarakhand 249161

Moolavar

Shiva

Amman

Rajarajeshwari

Introduction

Rajarajeshwari Temple is dedicated to goddess Rajrajeshwari located in Ranihat, an outskirt of Srinagar Town in Srinagar Tehsil in Pauri Garhwal District in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. This temple is considered as the largest temple of Srinagar in the Shakta tradition. The temple is situated on the right bank of Alaknanda River, right in front of Srinagar SSB Campus. The temple complex is one of the state protected monuments in Uttarakhand declared by Archaeological Survey of India. The temple is situated right in front of Srinagar SSB Campus.

Puranic Significance

The temple is believed to be built in 9th century CE but the idols enshrined in the temple are dated to the 4th century CE. The idol of Mahishasura Mardini enshrined in the northern niche is dated to 11th century CE. Devadasi system is practiced in this temple during ancient times. This temple is facing towards east and enclosed within a compound wall. The temple consists of sanctum, antrala and maha mandapa. The maha mandapa is supported by eight pillars. The maha mandapa is provided with three entrances on the eastern, northern and southern side. The superstructure over tha mandapa is of pyramidal style. The shikara over the sanctum follows nagara style of architecture. The shikara is about 30 feet tall.

The shikara is crowned with amalaka with kalasa on top of it. The antrala has a superstructure called sukhanasi. It looks like a shorter extension of the shikara. The sanctum enshrines an image of Mother Rajarajeshwari (Goddess Parvati). She is seen sitting in Padmasana posture in quadrilateral form on the navel of the reclining Lord Shiva. There is another idol of the goddess Rajarajeshwari behind the red curtain. The darshan of this idol is completely forbidden

There are shrines dedicated to various Hindu deities can be found in the temple premises. All these shrines follow nagara style of architecture. The idol of Mahishasura Mardini enshrined in the northern niche is dated to 11 th century CE. There is an image of Nrivaraha in the maha mandapa. He is seen lifting the Bhudevi with the help of the left hand and knee by raising the feet on Sheshnag. This idol is older than the Mahishasura Mardini idol.

References

https://hindutemples-india.blogspot.com/p/odisha.html