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Rayagada
About Rayagada

Rayagada is a municipality in Rayagada district in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the administrative headquarters of Rayagada district. As of 2001 India census, Rayagada had a population of 57,732. There are various communities living in Rayagada. This is a tribal inhabited district of Odisha. Due to better communication with neighbour state Andhra Pradesh, the Telugu population is significant. Sindhis, Gujaratis and Marwaris who settled there a long time ago have become a distinct identity of the place. Tribals too comprise a significant population of the place. All the festivals relating to these communities are celebrated with splendor and fervour. The main language spoken here is Oriya, Telugu and tribal languages like Soura and Kui.

Rayagada has good scenic beauty with rich greenery around. Rayagada becomes a worth visit tourist destination of South Odisha.

 
History of Rayagada

Rayagada was under Kalinga empire during the reign of Ashoka the Great in the third century B.C. The hilly track between Bansadhara and Nagabali was well-known for spices. The Rastriks were defeated by Kharvela, the only Aryan Emperor of Kalinga (ancient Odisha), during the Chawpagada battle.

During the rule of Gangavansi and Suryavanshi Kings in Odisha, it was under feudatory chief of Kalinga-Utkala empire Dadarnab Dev of Gudari Kataka. This region went to the Bahamanis when the last Hindu Gajapati emperor of Odisha, Mukund Dev was defeated at Gohera Tikiri in 1519. It came under the Nandapur Kingdom for 47 years. Biswambar Dev was defeated and killed by Hasin Khan of Mughal Chicacole Sarkar rulers of Odisha, was perhaps the third king installed at Rayagada.

The Sati Kunda Goddess Majhi Ghairani and the mudfort around it speaks much about its evidence. In subsequent years it was under Bobbili Tahasil of Vijayanagaram. During the English regime, Rayagada came under Jeypore administration and later was part of Koraput District. On 2 October 1992 Rayagda District was carved out of the erstwhile Koraput district as part of the extension plan of districts in the Odisha state.

 
Tribals of Rayagada

The district has a major tribal population of 57.52%. All the 11 blocks of the district have been covered under tribal sub-plan with three micro projects in operation for the pre-literate indigenous tribal communities.

The district has been the homeland of various tribal communities with their sub-tribes, who are found in different levels of development depending upon their assimilation with the mainstream or modern communities. In the ethno-cultural map of Odisha, two tribes stand out quite prominently for their education backwardness and continuing ethnic and cultural identity, the Kandhas and the Souras.

The topography of Rayagada gives a prefect platform for the tribals in sustaining their ethno-cultural identity in the district. Forest area covers an extent of 4785.36 km2 out of which 777.27 km˛ is Reserved forest.

Geography of Rayagada

Rayagada is a district of forests, water falls, meadows, and terraced valleys, populated by many primitive tribal groups. The scenic beauty and heritage on the land is an unexplored paradise.

The pattern of people living in the district show unity in diversity of languages, culture, and races. The Scheduled Tribes living in the district possess dissimilar economics ranging from food gathering to settled cultivation. Their languages/dialects, culture and societies show inter-societal and -cultural variations because of the ethnic mosaic.

Tourist attractions of Rayagada

Laxminarayan temple
Laxminarayan temple is at IMFA Factory, Therubali. The deities Laxminarayan, Hanuman, Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra and Lord Siva are worshiped by thousands devotees.

Devagiri hill
Devagiri hill rises to a height of 120.2 meters. Unlike other hills it is not narrower upwards. The top of the hill is a flat platform of rectangular plain, which can be approached only from the northern side. There are 476 steps which are the unique feature of the Devagiri. At the top of the hill, there are perennial poles of water called the Ganges, Yamuna, Saraswati, Bhargavi and Indradyumna. There is a cave looking like two jaws. The Siva Lingam is protected at the meeting point of the jaws.

Chatikona
Chatikona is situated about 48 km from Rayagada surrounded by a series of valleys and wooded hills of varying colours and the place is a center of pilgrimage for the temple of Mahadev. It offers picnickers beautiful view of the waterfall. The Siva temple is the focus of hectic activities on Siva Ratri. The Dongaria Kondha of Chatikona represent the primitive section of the tribe.

Gayatri Temple
Gayatri Temple at Padampur is a striking temple with Goddess Maa PanchMukhi-Gayatri, Maa durga and Maa Mahalakshmi. The temple is well-known for Saraswati Puja Sri panchami in January–February. It is 90 km from Rayagada. Padampur houses the shrine of Manikeswari Siva. It is recognized to be the seat of Dharmakirti, the Budhist-Logician-philosopher. It is a 7th-century temple. It is 90 km from Rayagada.

Maa Majhighariani Temple
Maa Majhighariani Temple is well-known in Southern Division of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. The temple is famous for Chaitra-Parba.Most of the devotees come from Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Chhatishgarh including undivided Koraput District. Only the face of the Maa MajhiGhariani is worshiped. During Sunday, Wednesday and Friday a large number of devotees come to worship the Goddess

Maa Mangla Maa Temple
|Maa Mangla Maa Temple lies in the Raniguda area of Rayagada near the Hathipathar. Hatipathar is only 3 km from the district headquarters. It is a place of great scenic beauty with two waterfalls on the course of river Nagavali. The scenic beauty is impressive and the boulders here appear like huge elephants.

Paikapada
Paikapada is well-known for so many Siva Lingams. The deities like Maa Dhakineswar Kalika, Lord Jagannath, Samudra, etc. are worshiped here. The car festival of Lord Jagannath is also celebrated. During Sivaratri a large number of pilgrims come to observe the function. The place is near Theruballi. It is believed that there are 99,99,999 shivlingams (only one less than 1 crore) in and around Paikapada shrine.

Bhimasankar Jyotirlinga
According to Linga Puran, Bhimasankar temple in Bhimpur is about 100 km from Rayagada and 30 km from Gunupur is one of the Jyotirling, located at the western part of the holy Mahendragiri mountains and at the river bank of Mahendratanaya was excavated in 1974, having quadrangular Shakti around the Linga and decorated by a Upavita as per the puran.

Hanging Bridge File
The bridge resembles the Laxman Jhola of Rishikesh and is a popular tourist attraction. Hanging Bridge File is the latest attraction of Rayagada.

Minajhola
Minajhola is only 134 km from Rayagada. It is a beauty spot of nature, has a siva temple at the convergence of three rivers. It is located in the heart of dense forest, rich in wildlife. Sivaratri is a popular festival of this place.

Guma Ghati
Guma Ghati is about 20 km from Rayagada. It is surrounded by dense forest.It is a very good place to see. Many people come here for Picnic.A small waterfall is also here.

Maa Markama Temple
Maa Markama Temple is situated at Bissam Cuttack which is about 40 km from Rayagada. The temple got a new look and bounded by lush green forest. Many people visit from near and far especially on Tuesdays. The town college has also been named after Goddess Markama.

How to Reach Rayagada

By Rail
Rayagada is linked from other parts of India like Chennai, Delhi, Gujarat, Raipur, Alleppey, Bokaro, Nagpur, Bhubaneswar , Hyderbad, Bilaspur and Kolkata.

By Road
Road transport facilities available as NH-43 is passing through Koraput,i.e. 109 Kms from Rayagada. Direct Express bus services are available from Bhubaneswar, Vishakhapatnam, Cuttack, Jeypore, Koraput, Vizianagarm, Puri, Malkangiri, Phulbani, etc.

By Air
Nearest air port is at Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) which is about 200 kms away and is linked with Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Nagpur by going flights.

 

 


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