Samaleswari Temple is a Hindu temple in Sambalpur town of western Odisha, which is dedicated to the goddess known as ‘Samaleswari‘, also known among the natives as Maa Samalei, meaning Mother Samaleswari. The original temple was built in 15th century and is of Sandhara order (these types of the temples have a square sanctum enclosed by a gallery of pillars meant for pradakshina by devotees)

After Lord Jagannath in Puri, she is the only Goddess in Odisha who is the presiding deity (adhisthatri devi) of such a large region including the complete Western Odisha, parts of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.

Located on the bank of the river Mahanadi, the mother goddess Samaleswari is worshipped from ancient times as Jagatjanani, Adishakti, Mahalaxmi and Mahasaraswati, and she is regarded as the mother of the universe.

Sambalpur is also famous for Sambalpuri Saree and the Hirakud Dam built over river Mahanadi and is a large Hydro-Electricity project.

How to Reach: Sambalpur is well connected both by raod and rail. National Highway 6 connecting Mumbai to Kolkata passes through Sambalpur, and Sambalpur is connected to Bhubaneswar through Natinal Highway 42. Sambalpur is one of the Divisional headquarters of East Coast Railways. There are four Railway stations namely Sambalpur (Khetrajpur), Sambalpur Road (Fatak), Hirakud and Sambalpur City in Sambalpur.

Locate the temple on the Google Map.