Mundia Hanuman temple in Odisha’s Nayagarh dist located atop hill: Watch

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Nayagarh: The Mundia Hanuman temple in Nayagarh district of Odisha is a unique but little known tourist spot. The temple is located atop a hill and people need to pass through tunnels of the hill which makes the journey to the shrine exciting. And hence footfall to this sacred place is gradually increasing.

Location

Located atop the hill in Mardarajpur area under Khandapada block of Nayagarh, the shrine is surrounded with natural and picturesque scenes.  At the end of the village the Mundia Hanuman temple is located atop a small hill.  Mundia Hanuman is the prime deity at this place while some other deities are also getting worshiped here.

Background

There is no solid evidence about when exactly the temple was established. As per history, during the colonial rule in the country, once upon a time the youths of this area turned soldiers of Khandapada king and fought with the Britishers. As they won over the colonial troop, the then King of Khandapada Banamali Singh ordered to establish a village in this area which was named as Mardarajpur. Heroic males are called ‘Marda’ in Odia and hence the name of the village.

Naming

A small erected land structure is sometimes regarded as ‘Mundia’ in the vernacular language. Probably that was the reason the temple was called Mundia Hanuman temple. We can witness about 70 temples at this place. The Hanuman temple, the shrine dedicated to the monkey God is the prime among them.

What to see

Besides the Hanuman temple, we also find the shrine of Goddess Kanaka Durga here. The beautiful decoration at this pitha is also a treat to the eyes. It is believed that all the wishes made in front of this Goddess, is surely fulfilled. After fulfillment of their wishes, devotees knot sacred clothes at this temple. As per some devotees, this place is similar to the shrine of Goddess Ghanteshwari in Odisha.

There are two small hills here. While the Mundia Hanuman temple is located on the hill at the east, the west side hill houses many mythological structures. These are – Swayambar Sabha of Draupadi, image of Bhishma, statue of God with four hands (Chaturdha murti), the scene of Lord Vishnu rescuing elephant from crocodile, Nataraj, 10 incarnations (Dasabatara), Maa Kanaka Durga, Radha Krishna statue and Mahisasuramardini Goddess Durga. These days hundreds of visitors are flocking to this place to witness the shrines.

Development

Sarpanch of the village Baikuntha Gochhi has taken many steps towards development of this place. Besides, the continuous co-operation by the villagers has transformed this place as a tourist destination. All the families of this locality care for the development and security of Mundia Hanuman temple.

A parking fee is collected from the visitors with which developmental works of this place is made. While due to the effort of the villagers as well as Sarpanch, now more numbers of tourists have started to visit this place, once it will get approval as a recognized tourist destination by the Government, the place will see more development as per the villagers.

With inputs from Utpal Kumar Sahu, Nayagarh

Also read: Lord Buddha temple in Buddhajayantipur of Odisha’s Athagarh linked to Sri Lanka: Watch

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