Ranipur Jharial in Balangir, Orissa

If you have passion for historical monuments having with some religious value, take a trip to Ranipur-Jharial, the twin village in Balangir district that houses some rare temples and structures. The 9^th century Indralath temple made off bricks, the Chausathi Yogini shrine, the Someswar Mahadev temple and the large Yantras, carved on the rock are the main attraction of this archeological site in the Bangomunda block and Titlagarh subdivision. Around 200 temples of different dimension are found here. A report by Himanshu Guru.

Background

Ranipur Jharial is mentioned as ‘Soma Tirtha’ in scriptures. Perhaps it takes the name from the Someshwar Mahadev temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, found on the rocks of this historical site. As per historians, the Somavanshi Keshari kings built many temples here that can be dated back to the 9th/10th century AD, however some other Historians assign date of the structures to 8th century A.D. Yet, at the top of all, it is unquestionably a place having with the ancient structures of historical and religious importance.

Exterior view of the 64 Yogini temple in Ranipur Jharial

The Chausathi Yogini shrine

Interior view of the 64 Yogini temple

The Chausathi Yogini shrine found in this site is a rock structure in round shape where idols of 64 Hindu deities, known as yoginis are witnessed. Actually we noticed there 62 idols. The shrine also has a rock statue with a perch in the middle, which is claimed as the idol of Lord Brahma. Unlike temples of other deities Brahma shrine is rarely found.




 
Indralath Brick temple

Indralath (Brick) temple

The unique structure, Indralath temple is one of the tallest ancient brick temples in the country. Height of this temple is 80 feet including the platform made off sand stone. While the ancient pinnacle of this temple is destroyed, the temple is more or less intact. The innermost sanctum of this temple houses a recently installed Linga and images of Lord Vishnu, Kartikeya and Uma-Maheshwara and Narasingha are also witnessed here.

Someshwar Mahadev temple

Someshwar Mahadev temple

The Someshwar temple here has images of Goddess Durga, a bull (transporter of Lord Shiva), and a Dwarapala. On the lintel of the entrance to the innermost room (Garbhagriha) Gajalaxmi is also seen besides the Shivalinga. On the entrance wall a deity possibly a Buddha or a Siddha in dhyana-mudra is found.

The Yantras

The Yantras

Yantras are a religious drawing which is believed to be the abode of the Gods and Goddesses and thus have much importance in worship. We know about Shree Yantra, Kuber Yantra etc. which are drawn on 2 inch square shape and placed at the worship place in a house. But here in Ranipur one can witness gigantic yantras carved on the rocks which is a rare scene. Some people claim these drawings related to Tantra.

How to Approach

Ranipur Jharial is located in the Bangomunda block at a distance of 110 kilometers from the district headquarter of Balangir district. It is 25 kms from Titilagarh, the nearest town. Nearest railway stations are Titilagarh Junction and Balangir to approach this destination. In road ways either come from Titilagarh or come from Balangir through Patnagarh, Kantabanji, Bangomunda and then a left turn at the ‘Golei chowk’ of Bangomunda. Then after travelling 2 kms take the kacha road of 8 km to reach the destination. Hired vehicles are available at Balangir and Titilagarh. For information and guidance one can call my friend Rashmiranjan Putel, a media personnel (Ph. +91 9938596595) of Bangomunda.

Facilities

Boating in water park in Ranipur Jharial

Hired Boating facility in the nearby river is recently launched in Ranipur Jharial where one can take a ride in the blue water to have a glimpse of the number of temples on the rocks from the water body. A park has also been built that houses few animals too. However, there is no hotels or eatery right at the destination and one should plan (for a to and fro journey) accordingly.




Best time to visit


Ranipur Jharial can be visited across the year. However, as such the temperature of Balangir district rises to a considerable extent during summer and the structures are purely on rock without any flora and fauna, visiting this place in summer may earn lot of difficulties due to the extreme heat. Thus, visit to this place during tough days of summer are not recommended.

Little Flowers in Big Trouble

Child is like a flower that needs to be brought up with much care, attention and affection. But unfortunately a number of children befall victims of big troubles including trafficking, abuse, health deterioration etc. It is the collective responsibility of the society to think seriously for this vulnerable community of society. Despite a series of government laws and schemes, effort by NGOs and some other entities, children are yet to get more. Himanshu Guru lately visited Basudevpur, a village in Puri district to evaluate position of children community there and herewith reports their plight.

Children interacting with media in Basudevpur

Subhashree Pradhan

Subhashree Pradhan, a student of Kanakdurga High School in Basudevpur informs that the route to their school that connects with a nearby hamlet, from where around 100 numbers of students regularly come to the school, was not safe for the girls as it was merely a ‘Junglee’ path with lots of bushes on the road. Even the connecting bridge was an old wooden one and the problem was never taken up. In 2011 a group of activists from a NGO named ‘Save the Children’ visited their village to interact with the children. They educated about child rights and persuaded the children to fight for their own cause.  

Accordingly Pradhan and her student friends created a child group and put the problems before the village Sarpanch. Initially they were ignored but later the elderly people felt that children should also be given a chance to tell about their problems. Ultimately their plight was taken up and a sum was allocated for a concrete bridge. It was a success story for which the children group must be petted but the story does not end there.

Sona S. Singhar

Sona Samant Singhar (12), a student of class 9 complains that there are three peons in their school but the students are still engaged in works including sweeping of the class rooms. Mamata Jena (13) of class 8 intimated that the village does not have a health centre besides a private one and so they face a lot of problems. 

Shibanishankar Mishra (14) of class 9 complains that there is no boundary wall in the school and we find empty wine bottles everyday in the premises. Is it not the right time to take up these problems?

Shibani S. Mishra

Interestingly, despite hurdles some student became successful in creating student groups and these days they are also allowed to take part in the ‘Palli Sabha’, where people of a village sit and discuss about community problems and to take a measure. After being intimated about child rights they are now running child groups to take up different problems and wanted to give the credit to ‘Save the Children’ and ‘Open learning System’.

During this field visit of the blogger (Himanshu Guru) he not only heard the students but also wanted to know opinion of the Sarpanch, elderly people of the village and the activists. When asked about their point of view on children, Prananath Sasmal, Sarpanch and other seniors of the village stated that they are ready to allow the children to come up with their plight.

Not only in Basudevpur but it is time now for all the children to raise voice. We know, it seems awkward but many people strongly feel that the children themselves should come forward to bring a big change in the society.

Shyamal Dash

‘Save the Children’ recently organized a conference titled ‘More than breaking news’ in Puri and invited top brass media professionals from six states to focus on the problems related to children. They narrated about their execution process as well as achievements on redress of children’s issues and appealed the media personnel to come up with suggestions on how more can be done for the children. In this meet, senior media members also presented their papers and showcased short films. These films basically provided message protesting female foeticide, early marriage of girls, trafficking and restraining girls from education. Communication Coordinator for Bihar and Orissa of ‘Save the Children’ Shyamal Dash informed that children don’t have really a child-life these days since most of them are engaged in even hazardous professions. Advocacy director Sirin Vakil Miller intimated that it is time to focus on the issues of the most marginalized children of the country.

Inter state Media conference by Save the Children in Puri

It is true that children in India are becoming prey of social evils. A number of children are engaged in different professions and even in begging. Laws are there for their safeguard and govt. agencies as well as social workers are putting effort to deal with the matter, but lot more need to be done to see a smile on the face of these little angels.

Temporary wood bridge mentioned in the article