Mahamaya Temple, Ratanpur

The Mahamaya Temple stands in Ratanpur, the historic town in Bilaspur district, and is counted among the 52 Shaktipeeths of the goddess. Mahamaya, linked with Durga and Mahalakshmi, has long been the guardian deity of Ratanpur. The shrine's origins go back to the 12th and 13th centuries under the Kalachuris of Ratnapura, and legend connects it to a vision of the goddess Kali seen by King Ratnadeva.

The temple was first a shrine to a trio of goddesses, Maha Saraswati, Maha Kali and Maha Lakshmi. Under King Bahar Sai it was rebuilt, and the present building, dedicated to Maha Lakshmi and Maha Saraswati, dates from 1492. Built in the Nagara style, it faces north beside a large tank and rests on sixteen stone pillars. The precinct once held palaces, forts and smaller temples of the Ratanpur kings. Within it stands the older Kantideval Temple, believed to have been founded by the ascetic Santosh Giri in 1039 and enlarged by the Kalachuri king Prithvideva II.