Samaleshwari

Samaleshwari

Samaleśvarī is the principal goddess of western Odisha, installed on the bank of the Mahanadi river at Sambalpur. Her shrine is the religious heart of Sambalpuri culture and the Chauhan dynasty capital from the 17th–18th c.

The temple is believed to date from 14th–15th c. under the Chauhan rajas of Sambalpur. The goddess is worshipped as a svayambhū rock-form, not a sculpted image. Her significance extends across the Sambalpuri-speaking Kosali region of western Odisha and bordering Chhattisgarh, where she is the central shared cultural deity.