Maa Sarala Temple, Jhankad
Devi as Maa Sarala (worshipped as a form of Durga / Adishakti) temple · Jhankad (Kanakpur village, Tirtol tehsil), Jagatsinghpur, Odisha, India
Maa Sarala Temple, also called the Jhankad Sarala Temple, is a shrine of the Goddess at Jhankad in the village of Kanakpur, Tirtol tehsil, Jagatsinghpur district, coastal Odisha. The presiding deity, Maa Sarala, is worshipped as a form of Durga, and the shrine counts among the best-known Shakti centres of Odisha.
The temple is closely tied to Sarala Das, the 15th-century poet who wrote the Mahabharata in Odia and who took his name from the goddess. The present structure, a Kalinga-style temple dated to the 18th–19th century by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), is a protected monument of the Odisha State Archaeology department.
Faith & Tradition
Religious Significance of Maa Sarala Temple, Jhankad
The goddess is remembered above all as the patron of Sarala Das. According to Wikipedia, the poet was born Siddheswara Parida at Kanakavati Patana, now Kanakapura, in Jagatsinghpur district, and became known as Sarala Das, 'servant of Sarala', in gratitude for the goddess's grace. Tradition holds that the goddess listened to his songs and blessed him with the gift of poetry; he went on to compose the Sarala Mahabharata, the Vilanka Ramayana and the Chandi Purana. Wikipedia places him in the reign of the Gajapati king Kapilendra Deva (1435–67).
In his writings, as Orissa Post notes, Sarala Das described Samalei of Sambalpur, Sarala of Jhankad and Biraja of Jajpur as different forms of the goddess Mangala. Orissa Post also reports that the temple has a special relationship with the Jagannath temple at Puri: it blends Vaishnava and Shaiva practice, offering both tulasi and bel leaves to the goddess, regularly receives Mahaprasad from Lord Jagannath, and on special occasions the goddess is dressed in a Jagannath form.
That link was in the news in 2015, when a neem tree near the shrine was identified as the daru (sacred log) for Lord Balabhadra's new image at Puri. Orissa Post reported that local people and the temple's priests regarded the choice as the goddess's blessing; according to the chief priest, the goddess had indicated the tree in a dream.
Heritage
History of Maa Sarala Temple, Jhankad
The IGNCA documentation sheet, prepared for the national heritage inventory, assigns the present temple to the 18th–19th century on the basis of its plan and style, and records that it has been renovated, repaired and protected by the Odisha State Archaeology department and is managed through the state Endowments department. OdishaBytes likewise described it in 2022 as an 18th-century temple. Wikipedia's list of state-protected monuments in Odisha includes the Sarala Temple in Jagatsinghpur district (S-OR-91).
In June 2022 the Odisha government approved a master plan to redevelop the temple surroundings, sanctioning Rs 42 crore for the first phase, OdishaBytes reported. The plan covered the main temple and its subsidiary shrines, the temple pond and the Chandan Pokhari, four entrance gates, a compound wall, the kitchen and Ananda Bazar, and pilgrim facilities, with road widening in a second phase. In July 2023 the Sarala Temple Managing Committee, with the approval of the district administration, banned mobile phones and photography inside the temple and declared the complex polythene-free, OdishaBytes reported.
Architecture and sacred features
According to the IGNCA, the east-facing temple stands on a high platform and is built of stone and brick in ashlar masonry. It has a square pidha vimana (sanctum with a tiered, stepped roof), a rectangular jagamohana with an unusual three-tiered pidha top, and an open, flat-roofed pillared mandapa in front. The sanctum is pancharatha in plan (with five projections) and panchanga in elevation.
The outer walls carry pidhamundi niche designs and sculptures that the IGNCA lists as including Mahishasuramardini Durga, Krishna and the ten incarnations of Vishnu. Loose images of Lakshmi-Narasimha, Ganesha and Kartikeya are also recorded in the complex.
Plan Your Visit
Darshan and Visitor Information
Maa Sarala is a busy working temple. The managing committee has banned mobile phones and photography inside the temple and does not allow polythene in the complex (OdishaBytes, 2023), so leave phones and plastic bags outside. Confirm current timings and rules with the Sarala Temple Managing Committee or the Jagatsinghpur district administration before visiting.
Timings and arrangements change with seasons and festivals. Confirm current details with Sarala Temple Managing Committee; Endowments department, Government of Odisha (per the IGNCA) before travelling. Last reviewed 1 November 2026.
Sacred Calendar
Festivals at Maa Sarala Temple, Jhankad
Durga Puja
The IGNCA records Durga Puja among the temple's principal rituals.
Chaitra Purnima
Listed by the IGNCA among the temple's ritual occasions.
Pana Sankranti and Jhamu Yatra
Wikipedia's article on Maha Bishuba Sankranti records that priests at the Sarala Temple walk on hot coals in the fire-walking festival called Jhamu Yatra.
Location
How to Reach Maa Sarala Temple, Jhankad
The temple is in the centre of Kanakpur village, about 3 km south of the Cuttack–Paradip road, according to the IGNCA. It lies in Tirtol tehsil of Jagatsinghpur district.
Location: Jhankad (Kanakpur village, Tirtol tehsil), Jagatsinghpur, Odisha, India
More in Hindu temples in Odisha · Devi as Maa Sarala (worshipped as a form of Durga / Adishakti) temples · Temples in Tirtol P.S. Tahasil · Temples in Jagatsinghpur District
Questions
Maa Sarala Temple, Jhankad: Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Maa Sarala Temple?
It is at Jhankad, in Kanakpur village, Tirtol tehsil, Jagatsinghpur district, Odisha, about 3 km south of the Cuttack–Paradip road.
What is the connection between Maa Sarala and Sarala Das?
The 15th-century poet, born Siddheswara Parida near the shrine, took the name Sarala Das in devotion to the goddess. Tradition holds that her blessing gave him the gift of poetry, and he wrote the Odia Mahabharata.
How old is the Sarala Temple?
The IGNCA dates the present structure to the 18th–19th century on stylistic grounds. The shrine's link with Sarala Das is far older.
Is the Sarala Temple a protected monument?
Yes. It is protected by the Odisha State Archaeology department, according to the IGNCA, and appears in the list of state-protected monuments for Jagatsinghpur district.
What is the temple's link with Puri's Jagannath temple?
Orissa Post reports that the temple regularly receives Mahaprasad from Lord Jagannath and that the goddess is sometimes dressed in a Jagannath form. In 2015 a neem tree near the shrine was chosen as the sacred log for Lord Balabhadra's new image.
Can I take my phone into the Sarala Temple?
No. In 2023 the managing committee banned mobile phones and photography inside the temple, OdishaBytes reported. Check current rules before visiting.
Sources and attribution
- Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), Ministry of Culture — Documentation format for heritage sites: Sarala Temple, Kanakpur, Dist-Jagatsinghpur (OR/JSP-13)
- Wikipedia — Sarala Temple
- Wikipedia — Sarala Dasa
- Wikipedia — List of State Protected Monuments in Odisha
- Wikipedia — Maha Bishuba Sankranti
- Orissa Post — 'Sarala's blessings behind selection of daru' (April 2015)
- Orissa Post — Matter of faith (Rashmi Rekha Das)
- OdishaBytes — Naveen okays master plan for renovation of Sarala temple in Jagatsinghpur; Rs 42 cr granted in 1st phase (2 June 2022)
- OdishaBytes — Mobile phone banned in Odisha's Sarala temple (9 July 2023)
Further reading: Maa Sarala Temple, Jhankad on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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