Katak Chandi Temple

The Katak Chandi Temple is an ancient temple dedicated to the Goddess Chandi, the presiding deity of Cuttack, Orissa. The temple is located nearby the banks of the Mahanadi River. It is famous for the annual Durga Puja and Kali Puja festivals.

The Durga Puja festivities are prominent in Maa Katak Chandi temple which takes place for 16 days stating from dark fortnight of Ashwina Krishna Ashtami till Ashwina shukla navami and Vijayadashami.

The goddess popularly called as Maa Katak Chandi, sits and rules on the heart of the ancient city. She has four hands holding Paasha (noose), Ankusha (goad), gestures dispelling fear (Abhaya), and granting boon (Varada).

She is worshiped as Bhuvaneshvari Mahavidya (the queen of universe) by Sevayatas belonging to Utkala Brahmins every day. Maa Chandi is worshipped in various incarnations of Durga during the puja. In Cuttack, people strongly believe Maa Katak Chandi as 'The Living Goddess'.
The Temple of Maa Katak Chandi, the presiding deity of the city is visited by hundreds of devotees every day. The image of the deity is older than the temple. It is believed that she was the family deity of Gajapati Kingdom in the medieval age, due to non-Hindu attacks she was buried while the kings migrated to Puri.

Getting There

Located about 8 km away from the center of the Cuttack. Taxis and buses available easily to ply within these two location.

National Highway 16 (former National Highway 5) runs from North to South of the Cuttack. As a part of the Golden Quadrilateral project, this highway runs from Chennai to Kolkata. National Highway 55 (former National Highway 42) connects Cuttack with Sambalpur. Also Asian Highway 45 passes through Cuttack.

Intra city transport is primarily through Auto rickshaws. Nowadays DTS city buses ply in the city to join different places in the city and the state capital. Cuttack is a major junction connecting all the major parts of the state. The bus terminus at Cuttack is located at Badambadi, and is one of the largest bus terminus in India, and thousands of private and government buses ply to hundreds of destinations everyday. A new bus terminus at Balikuda is under construction to relieve pressure off the Badambadi Bus Terminus.

Cuttack Junction is one of the important stations on the Howrah , Kolkata-Chennai mainline of the East Coast Railway and falls under the Khurda Road division. A branch line to Paradeep starts from Cuttack. It is connected to all parts of India through trains run by the Indian Railways.

The nearest domestic airport is Biju Patnaik International Airport, located in Bhubaneswar, 30 km southwest of Cuttack. It is about 40 minutes drive to Biju Patnaik International Airport from Cuttack. To make arrangements for a taxi from Airport to Cuttack, contact one the taxi operators and travel agents that have counter in the Airport.

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