Maa Markama Temple, Bissam Cuttack

Maa Markama Temple stands in Bissam Cuttack village in Rayagada district, Odisha, and is described as the only shrine in the state to Maa Markama and Maa Karkama. Karkama, believed to be Markama's sister, has her own temple next door. The goddess is said to have been worshipped for centuries, though the temple itself is recent.

Markama was the tutelary deity of the Thatrajas, descendants of Mallu Mohanty of the Karana community, who founded and ruled the Bissam Cuttack estate. Human sacrifice was once practised here and ended under British rule; buffalo sacrifice went on until a regional officer stopped it in the 1950s. The goddess appears in Sarala Dash's Chandi Purana and Matta Balarama Dash's Bata Abakash, and legends tell how she helped the king of Bissam Cuttack in a war by bewitching the enemy soldiers. Dussehra and Chaitra Parba are celebrated every year, and the nearest railhead is Chatikona, 7 km away.