Maa Danteshwari Temple
दंतेश्वरी मंदिर
Devi (Danteshwari) temple · Dantewada, Chhattisgarh, India
Maa Danteshwari Temple in Dantewada, southern Chhattisgarh, is the shrine of the goddess Danteshwari, described by the district administration as the most revered goddess of Bastar (Dantewada District Administration). It stands where the Shankini and Dankini rivers meet (Incredible India; The Week). The goddess is regarded as the presiding deity of the region (Incredible India; Deccan Chronicle), and the town takes its name from her (Dantewada District Administration; Outlook Traveller).
Faith & Tradition
Religious Significance of Maa Danteshwari Temple
According to tradition, the temple marks the place where a tooth (dant) of Sati fell, which is the source of the name Dantewada (Dantewada District Administration; Incredible India; Outlook Traveller). On that basis it is counted among the Shakti Peethas, though the numbering varies: the district administration and Outlook Traveller speak of 52 Shakti Peethas, while one Incredible India page says 51 (Dantewada District Administration; Outlook Traveller; Incredible India).
The goddess is closely tied to the former ruling house of Bastar, and is described as its guiding force (The Week). Incredible India describes the worship of Maa Danteshwari as the focus of the Bastar Dussehra and records the arrival of the goddess from Dantewada, and her welcome in Jagdalpur, as one of the festival's main religious moments (Incredible India).
Heritage
History of Maa Danteshwari Temple
Tradition links the shrine to Annamdev, a prince of the Kakatiya line of Warangal who established his family's rule in Bastar (Incredible India; The Week; Patrika). In the legend, the goddess promised him a kingdom and followed behind him as he walked; when the sound of her anklets stopped at the meeting of the Shankini and Dankini rivers, the temple was built at that spot (The Week; Patrika). These accounts belong to tradition and are not dated consistently: The Week places Annamdev's arrival in the 13th century, while Incredible India describes the temple as about 600 years old and of the 14th century, built under the Kakatiya rulers (The Week; Incredible India).
Architecture and sacred features
Incredible India describes a modest wooden, hut-like front, with a stone Garuda pillar standing opposite the entrance (Incredible India). Inside, the temple is divided into a garbhagriha, a maha mandapa, a mukhya mandapa and a sabha mandapa, with the sanctum and maha mandapa built of stone and the black stone images dressed with flowers, ornaments and cloth (Incredible India). The same source recommends visiting the nearby Bhairava temple (Incredible India).
Plan Your Visit
Darshan and Visitor Information
Navratri and the Bastar Dussehra are the busiest periods, and during Navratri devotees light jyoti kalash lamps at the temple (Incredible India; All India Radio; Patrika). All India Radio reported in April 2024 that online booking was offered for jyoti kalash lamps in Chaitra Navratri (All India Radio). Booking arrangements, timings and dress rules change; confirm current arrangements with the temple committee or the Dantewada district administration before visiting.
Timings and arrangements change with seasons and festivals. Confirm current details with the temple administration before travelling. Last reviewed 11 October 2026.
Sacred Calendar
Festivals at Maa Danteshwari Temple
Bastar Dussehra
Incredible India describes the festival as centred on the worship of Maa Danteshwari, with the goddess brought from Dantewada and welcomed in Jagdalpur (Incredible India). Her image is carried in procession during the festival (Incredible India).
Navratri (Chaitra and Sharad)
Devotees light jyoti kalash lamps at the temple during Navratri (Incredible India; All India Radio; Patrika).
Phagun Madai
A fair held at Dantewada in the month of Phagun in honour of the goddess (Outlook Traveller; Incredible India).
Location
How to Reach Maa Danteshwari Temple
The district administration lists Jagdalpur, about 80 km away, as the nearest small airport with limited flights, and Raipur and Visakhapatnam airports as about 400 km away by road (Dantewada District Administration). It gives the road distance from Raipur to Dantewada as 400 km and notes daily trains from Visakhapatnam to Dantewada, as listed by the Dantewada District Administration (checked October 2026); confirm before travelling (Dantewada District Administration). Incredible India also names Jagdalpur Airport and Raipur's Swami Vivekananda Airport, and lists Gidam, Kamalur and Bacheli among railway stations in the area (Incredible India).
Location: Dantewada, Chhattisgarh, India 494449
Nearest airport: Jagdalpur (about 80 km, limited flights, per Dantewada District Administration); Raipur and Visakhapatnam about 400 km
Nearest railway station: Dantewada (daily trains from Visakhapatnam, per Dantewada District Administration)
More in Hindu temples in Chhattisgarh · Devi (Danteshwari) temples
Questions
Maa Danteshwari Temple: Frequently Asked Questions
Which goddess is worshipped at the Danteshwari Temple in Dantewada?
The temple is dedicated to Maa Danteshwari, a form of Devi described as the most revered goddess of Bastar (Dantewada District Administration; Incredible India).
Is Danteshwari Temple a Shakti Peetha?
By tradition, yes: a tooth of Sati is believed to have fallen here (Dantewada District Administration; Outlook Traveller). Sources count the Shakti Peethas differently, as 51 or 52 (Incredible India; Dantewada District Administration).
Which rivers meet at the temple?
The temple stands at the confluence of the Shankini and Dankini rivers (Incredible India; The Week; Patrika).
How is the temple linked to Bastar Dussehra?
The worship of Maa Danteshwari is the focus of the Bastar Dussehra, and the goddess's arrival from Dantewada and welcome in Jagdalpur is one of its main rites (Incredible India). She is regarded as the guiding deity of the former Bastar royal family (The Week).
Who built the temple?
Tradition links it to Annamdev of the Kakatiya line of Warangal, who founded his family's rule in Bastar (Incredible India; The Week). Sources place this in the 13th or 14th century, and the dating is not settled (The Week; Incredible India).
What is the nearest airport to Dantewada?
The district administration names Jagdalpur, about 80 km away, as the nearest small airport, with Raipur and Visakhapatnam about 400 km away (Dantewada District Administration).
Sources and attribution
- © OpenStreetMap contributors — location data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL)
- Dantewada District Administration — Dantewada (tourist place)
- Incredible India (Ministry of Tourism) — Danteshwari Temple
- Incredible India (Ministry of Tourism) — Dantewada: Abode of Maa Danteshwari
- Incredible India (Ministry of Tourism) — Bastar Dussehra
- The Week — Class act (June 2015)
- Outlook Traveller — Chhattisgarh: Phagun Madai
- Patrika — Ancient Maa Danteshwari temple of Chhattisgarh (September 2021, Hindi)
- All India Radio — Chaitra Navratri begins in Chhattisgarh (April 2024, Hindi)
- Deccan Chronicle — Chhattisgarh: BJP's Parivartan Yatra to woo Bastar tribals (September 2023)
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