Mahamaya Temple, Chhattisgarh situated at Devipur 4km away from Surajpur, around 25 km from Bilaspur. An architectural delight, Mahamaya Temple is one of the most famous and oldest temples. People from different places visit Mahamaya Temple, Chhattisgarh to worship and now it has become a major place of tourist attraction in Chhattisgarh.

The temple was built by the Kalchuri rulers in the 12th-13th cent. A.D. (The founder of the Kalachuri dynasty was Kokalla I.) Kalchuri King Ratnadev was the builder of this temple. This temple was dedicated to Mahamaya Devi which was the Kula Devi of the Kalchuri rulers of Ratanpur.  Ratnadev arrived here for the first time in Manipur village. The popular story is that the king was taking a rest under a tree when night fell. In mid-night, he woke up and saw a supernatural light under the tree and found Adi Shakti Mahamaya holding a meeting there. He lost consciousness then and there. He returned to his capital city of Tumman, but decided to make Ratanpur his capital.

This temple was modified by Kalchuri King Prthivideva II in the 15th Century AD.

Description:

It is believed that the guardian of the temple is Kalbhairva. The temple of Kalbhairva is a few kilometers away on the road that is taken to approach the Mahamaya Temple. The ruins of an 11th-century Kadeideol Shiva temple can be seen nearby.

One can also find temples of Lord Hanuman and Lord Shiva in the same complex dedicated to two Goddesses, Lakshmi and Saraswati. It is believed that originally the temple was built for 3 Goddesses Maha Kali, Maha Lakshmi, and Maha Saraswati. But the Goddess Maha Kal left this temple later.  Mahamaya Temple, Chhattisgarh is one of the 52 shaktipeeths, the shrines of the divine feminine representing Shakti.

There are a number of sacred ponds, kunds, and tanks surrounding the temple. The Bhikhma (derived from the name of Bhisma) tank is considered as river Jamuna, while the Dulahara tank is considered as sacred as the Ganga and local people call it Patal-Ganga. Lord Vishnu is symbolically connected with a big pond named Bairag-ban.