Majhighariani Temple

Majhighariani Temple is an important shrine for Devi in the Rayagada township of Odisha. It was built by King Vishwanath Dev Gajapati of the Suryavansh dynasty of Nandapur - Jeypore kingdom. It is believed that he made Rayagada his capital and after the construction of the temple and blessings of the goddess he went on to conquer a vast dominion and expanded his kingdom from parts of Bengal to Telangana in south.
Many people come to the shrine from Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh along with people from Odisha. The legend says Devi is worshipped from centuries whereas the temple is a new one. Every Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday the temple draws a large crowd from nearby area. Dussehra in October and Chaitra parva is most famous in March–April. The nearest railhead is Rayagada. People who have unfulfilled wishes come here and stay for many days for worship.
History.
According to the Odisha District Gazetteer, “in the fourteenth century the Suryavanshi king Viswanath Dev Gajapati chose Rayagada as his capital and shifted his headquarters to that new town from Nandapur. He built a fort on the banks of Nagavali, the ruins of which are still seen. Within this fort, he built the temple of Majhighariani goddess. Viswanath Gajapati also constructed rows of temples along the river Nagavali and the temple of Majhi Ghariani located in the middle of his palace and the temple was raised later at that very spot. Hence, the name Majhi Ghariani, or the one seated in the central room. The construction of the temple (The structure as we see today) is of very recent origin of around forty years.
In the past days, the temple was located inside the fortress of Vishwanath. However, the British demolished the fortress in order to make a bridge over river Nagavali using big stones which were scarce in the region.