Siya Devi Temple, Balod, Chattisgarh

Siya Devi Temple, Balod, Chattisgarh

Siya Devi Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to the Goddess Sita located in Naragaon near Balod Town in Balod District  in the state of Chattisgarh in India. The Temple situated amidst dense forest abounded with greenery and a natural waterfall.

Legends

Siya Devi:

During Ramayana, this place was called as Dandakaranya. Lord Rama visited this place during his exile along with Laxman & Sita. Goddess Parvati in the form of Goddess Sita, to test his loyalty towards his wife, Sita (at the time when he was in search of his wife, who was forcibly kidnapped by Demon king, Ravana). Lord Ram recognizes Goddess Parvati and greets her as his mother and asks the reason for coming in the middle of Jungle all alone.  Satisfied by the loyalty of Lord Ram, Goddess Parvati feels shame for her deed and discusses all the matter with Lord Shiva and apologizes. Lord Shiva advises her to settle down at Siya Devi as the incarnation of Goddess Sita. Hence, the place came to be called as Siya Devi.

Tiger Statue with iron chain:

There is another belief that the tiger of Goddess here awakes (comes into life) in night times and protects the holy region. Hence, the statue of tiger here is fastened here by a thick iron chain.

The Temple & Waterfall

The Temple situated amidst dense forest abounded with greenery and a natural waterfall. There are statues of Lord Ram with Sita & Lakshmana, Shiva Parvati, Hanuman, Radha Krishna, Siya Devi and Budhadeva. The waterfall here is about 15-20 feet high and 35-40 feet wide. The downstream of the falls is full of boulders, it becomes easy for tourist to come quite near to fall and enjoy the beauty of it.

Another interesting place is the cave situated on left side bank of upstream, which is actually a joint fracture between rocks which leaves a thin space to enter inside and has an end outside. It is believed that Valmiki performed meditation here. Hence, the cave came to be called as Valmiki Gufa.

Festivals

Navratri and Maha Shivrathri are the festivals celebrated here with much fanfare.

Connectivity

The Temple is located at about 21 Kms from Balod, 22 Kms from Balod Bus Station, 23 Kms from Balod Railway Station, 40 Kms from Dhamtari, 93 Kms from Bhilai Airport and 108 Kms from Raipur Airport. The Temple is situated on Balod – Charama State Highway. From Balod, one has to reach Jhalmala and then one has to travel on Balod – Charama State Highway to reach this temple and Siya Devi Waterfall.

Location | Photos