Padmasini temple of Padampur, Jharsuguda
Jharsuguda district is reputed as an industrial city of modern odisha, has many historic sites, including the Ashtachandi peeth. The Padmasini temple in Padmapur is distinct from other Chandi peeths in the district on account of its exotic construction style. The ancient Padmasini temple, submerged in the Hirakud Reservoir, has a long history.
The art and architecture of the Padmasini temple is utterly peculiar from other temples in Odisha. Volumetric stones have been utilized in the construction of the temple. Two stone inscriptions have been found in the temple. but they have not been deciphered. Even the founder and construction date of the temple has not yet been determined.
Padmasini temple is a Chalukya monument of 8th century. In the 7th century AD, the Padmasini temple was built by a Chalukya king of south. However, the original temple had met with decay and was believed to be rebuilt by the Chouhan king of sambalpur in 16th century. A look at the ’Jagmohan’ of original temple reveals striking resemblance with architecture of Chalukya era.. In the whole Odisha, Padmasini temple is a unique example of Chalukya art and architecture.
The city of Padmapur was very prosperous in education and culture. Bhavbhuti, one of the greatest Sanskrit drama writer and philosophers of Bedopanisad and Darshan Shastra, was born in the city of Padampur in the eighth century AD. Bhavbhuti's three famous Dramas are Malati Madhav, Mahabir and Uttar Ramcharit. Moreover, it is said that Bajrayana Tantra marg of Buddhism took origin here
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| Old Padmisini Temple |
History
Koshal kingdom was established during Kalinga victory campaign by the Magadha emperor Ashok. The kings of the Meghalaya dynasty ruled over Koshal kingdom. The kings of the Meghalaya dynasty ruled the Koshal kingdom. Kalinga king took refuge in the Kosala kingdom after defeating in the Meghavahan battle by the Magadha emperor Ashoka.
A Surjya dynasty ruled in the northern part of the Kosala kingdom (Bargarh of present-day Bargarh district and Padmapur and Bodasambar area) In the second century AD. the Surjya Dynasty King Baman Dev Ruled on Gandhamardhan mountains area ( Paikmal region )between 125 to 143 BC.
Baman Dev's son was abducted by King Bhim Dev of the neighboring kingdom and nurtured as his won son. After the death of King Bhim Dev, adopted son Sulochaneya Deva became the king of that kingdom. After the death of his father Baman Dev, his son Sulochaneya Deva also inherited his ancestral kingdom. King Sulochaneya Deva had two sons, Pratap Sen and the Satrughati Sen. Both sons Pratap Sen and satrughati Sen ruled the kingdom until 108 BC and 90 BC. His capital was established in Patnagarh situated at the foot of the Gandhamardhan hills.
Afterwards, king padmasen of Kandra or Mahar caste reigned over Koshal area . Even though padmasen was anointed as king of Kosala empire, he pursued his culinary business, prepared Kula, kangudi and dala from forest products for nourishment. King Padmasen was an expert in Tantra. Once upon a time, some influential people endeavored to oust King Padmasen from the throne. The king cognized about conspiracy by secret agents and sentenced all the conspirators to death by means of tantra magic. Of course, the Mercy king saved those wicked people from the capital punishment when their relative apologized for guilty. Therefore, as consequences of superiority Tatra bidya of king, people of the kingdom could not daresay to conspire against the king.
On the other hand, the queen of King Padmasen, Padmavati was competent to walk on the lotus leaves in the pond to accumulate water in a kalsh.. Queen footprints were not visible on the ground due to her Maya. Both King Padmasena and Queen Padmavati regularly worshiped God Shiva and Godess Durga as presiding deities. King Padmasen was very religious and childless. The kings were expensing money earned from their culinary profession for standard of living as well as to Carry on government, without taking any tax from the subjects to manage the kingdom.
( goddess Padmasini )
King Padmasen once levied a gold coin from the people for his reign. The next day, the queen went to the pool with a kalsh to collect water. But he could no longer walk on the lotus leaves in the pond as before. As soon as he stepped into the pool, her feet sank. Frustrated by such an unexpected event, he immediately regressed to home and asked the king if he had done anything amiss .
The king revealed to the queen that he had sought a gold medal from the people for the rule of the kingdom. The Queen was deeply saddened by King Padmasen's actions and declared that he had been unfair to the people
The queen committed suicide by consuming poison, realizing that Siddhi had been destroyed for her husband misdeeds. A few days after the death of Queen Padmavati, the king died. The king dedicated all the ornaments to the goddess Durga and took last breath at the mouth of the river (modern Badkela). This mouth is known as Satidarah (Satidhara). Before his death, King Padmasen appointed a young man to oversee the kingdom.
After the death of King Padmasena and Queen Padmavati, his capital was renamed Padmapur. The goddess Durga was worshiped under the name of Padmasini by the resident of the city. This ancient Padmapur area is located in Lakhanpur tehsil under Jharsuguda district of modern Odisha. Unfortunately, the ancient city of Padmapur has been inundated as a result of the implementation of the Hirakud dam project by the Odisha government.
However, Residents have been relocated to Pujhari Pali and Kapilapur villages and a new temple has been structured at Pujhari Pali, an ancient idol of Mother Padmavati installed. The submerged ancient Padmasini temple is completely visible as the water level drops during the summer (April to June).
( Padmasini Temple of Pujharipali )
Getting There
Ancient Padmasini temple is submerged in side Hirakud Water reservoir near Pujharipali under Lakhanpur block of Jharsuguda. New Temple is constructed in Bhikampali village which is about 60 Kilometers from jharsuguda town. If you want to see old temple , then April or June months will be perfect for trip. We can get local boat easily at Pujharipali to reach spot.
Jharsuguda is well connected with other nearby cities by State Highway 10 and National Highway. Rickshaws are available in town. There are a number of moderately priced hotels in the town.
Jharsuguda is an important railway junction on the Tatanagar–Bilaspur section of Howrah-Nagpur-Mumbai line and Jharsuguda-Vizianagaram line. The railway station comes under South Eastern Railway.
Jharsuguda has its own airport named Veer Surendra Sai Airport, located 5 km north east of the town. Air Odisha is starting chartered services to Jharsuguda Airport from its main hub at Biju Patnaik International Airport, Bhubaneswar.
The nearest domestic / international airport is Swami Vivekananda International Airport, located in Raipur, 310 km southwest of Jharsuguda. It is about five hours drive to Swami Vivekananda International Airport from Jharsuguda. You can easily take a taxi from Jharsuguda to visit the temple.
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