Mata Kaushalya Temple

Mata Kaushalya Temple, at Chandkhuri village about 27 km from Raipur, Chhattisgarh, is dedicated to Kaushalya, the mother of Rama, and is described as the only temple in the world devoted to her. Its idol shows her holding Rama in her lap. Its origins are believed to date from the 8th century; it has been damaged and rebuilt several times and was renovated in 1973.

The shrine stands at the centre of a lake ringed by the village, and visitors reach it on foot over the Hanuman Pul, a bridge topped by a statue of Hanuman. Chhattisgarh is regarded as Kaushalya's birthplace and so Rama's maternal home. In 2020 the Chief Minister laid the foundation stone for an expansion, and in October 2021 the temple became the first site developed under the Ram Van Gaman Path, a tourist circuit linking places where Rama is said to have halted during his exile, with restoration meant to keep its original form.