Maa Bhadrakali Temple

Maa Bhadrakali Temple is one of the important centres of Shakti worship in Odisha, located on the outskirts of the village of Aharapada, about 5 km southwest of Bhadrak town. The presiding deity is a striking black granite image of the Goddess in Padmasana (lotus posture) seated on a lion. The Iconography of the deity has led to different identifications with the Goddess Kali as well as Durga. It is popularly believed that the town of Bhadrak derives its name from the Goddess.

Local folklore connects the original abode of the Goddess with a cave in the Meghasana hills of Mayurbhanj where the Sage Tapasa is believed to have worshipped her. According to this account, his disciple Bhadranatha subsequently brought the idol to Bhadrak. Another local tradition connects the shifting of the idol with the political disturbances in the region and the efforts of the devotees to shift the deity so that it was saved from desecration. The present temple at Aharapada is an important pilgrimage centre where the Goddess is worshipped in her seven forms.