கிரிஜா (பிராஜா) தேவி கோயில் (ஜாஜ்பூர்)Girija (Biraja) Devi Temple, Jajpur

Sthala Mahātmyam

Girija Devi, worshipped as Biraja (Viraja), presides at Jajpur on the Vaitarani river in Odisha, invoked in the stotram as 'Odhyane Girija devi'. She is counted among the eighteen peethas as the place where the navel of Sati fell; the region is therefore called Oddiyana/Odyana, evoking the ornamental girdle worn about the navel, and is celebrated as the oldest tantric peetha of Odisha. The presiding image is Durga in a rare two-armed (dwibhuja) Mahishamardini form: one foot on a lion and the other pressing the chest of the buffalo-demon Mahishasura, whom she pierces with a spear while grasping his tail, with a linga and Ganesha above her head. Jajpur, called 'Viraja Kshetra' or 'Biraja Peetha', is also a great tirtha for ancestral rites (Nabhi Gaya). The temple finds mention in the 7th-century Brahmayamala Tantra, attesting its antiquity. Chief festivals are the sixteen-day Sharadiya Navaratri and Durga Puja, Shivaratri, and the Rath and processional festivals, drawing devotees and tantric sadhakas alike.