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Konark, Puri district, Odisha · 19.8546°, 86.0592°
A Shakta pitha on the Kushabhadra estuary about 5 km from Konark, held to be older than the Sun Temple itself. Architecturally modest, it matters as one of Odisha's well-known seats of the goddess, whom some accounts identify instead with Mayadevi, consort of Surya.
What follows is the temple’s own traditional account, transmitted through liturgy and local memory. It is recorded here as tradition, not as attested history.
When the iconoclast Kalapahad came for her, the goddess is said to have met him disguised as a maidservant, asked him to wait at the door while she fetched water from the river, and escaped to the Kushabhadra, later appearing in a priest's dream to ask for a temple on its bank.
coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-27 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Undetermined
Answers only from cited records
Opening the line…