Bambleshwari Temple is at Dongargarh in Rajnandgaon district, Chhattisgarh, India. It is on a hilltop of 1600 feet. This temple is referred as Badi Bambleshwari.
Shrine’s History
About 2200 years ago, Dongargarh was a fairly renounced territory named Kamavati ruled by Maharaja Kamsen also called Kamakhya Nagri. When his Queen gave birth to a son they named him Madansen. Since Raja Veersen considered it a blessing of Lord Shiv & Parvati, he constructed the temple of Shri Bamleshwari Mandir at Dongargarh. Now Raja Madansen had a son named Kamsen because of whom the area became famous and came to be known as Kamakhaya Nagari. A big battle took place between Raja Kamsen and Raja Vikramaditya, the reason being the love between Maadhavnal & Kaamkandla, which led to the complete destruction of KAMAVATI. Legend has it that after the death of Maadhavnal & Kaamkandala, Raja Vikramaditya felt guilty as he thought that he was responsible for Kaamkandala committing suicide. He underwent deep anguish and started constant worship, resulting in Maa Bagulamukhi Devi appearing before him. Raja Vikramaditya requested the goddess to make both Maadhavnal and Kaamkandala alive again and also asked Maa Bagulamukhi Devi to stay at the temple. Since then it is believed that Maa Bagulamukhi Devi is present here. As time passed by the name got transformed from Maa Bagulamukhi to Maa Bamlai to Shri Bamleshwari Mandir as it is known today.
Legends Associated with This Shrine
Dongar means mountains while Garh means fort. Legend goes that around 2200 years ago, Raja Veersen, a local king, was childless and upon the suggestions of his royal priests performed puja to the gods. Within a year, the queen gave birth to a son whom they named Madansen. Raja Veersen considered this a blessing of Lord Shiva and Parvati and constructed a temple here.
Shrine’s Map Location and How to Go There
By Road
The major National Highways 6, 43, and 16 connect all the major cities of the state to other parts of the country like Bhubaneswar, Kolkata and many places in western India. There is a good internal road network in the state connecting all the major parts of the state capital.
By Rail
Raipur and Bilaspur are two major railway stations that are connected to every part of the country.
By Air
The nearest airport is at Raipur airport
Shrine Timings
4.00 AM to 12.00 PM on weekdays and 5.00 AM to 10.00 PM on weekends
Events Celebrated at This Shrine
Dashera
Extra Information About this Shrine
Another temple at ground level, the Chhotti Bambleshwari is situated about 1/2 km from the main temple complex. These temples are revered by lakhs of people of Chhattisgarh who flock around the shrine during the Navratris of Kavar and Chaitra . There is a tradition of lighting Jyoti Kalash during Navaratri here.