Khijjinga Kota: The Ancient Capital of the Bhanja Sovereigns
Located in the western reaches of Mayurbhanj district near the border with Keonjhar, the historic village of Khiching was once the opulent imperial capital of the early Bhanja dynasty. Known in ancient epigraphs and copper-plate charters as 'Khijjinga Kota', this fortified royal city flourished between the 8th and 12th centuries CE as a major center of political power, international trade, and artistic synthesis, linking the coastal kingdoms of Odisha with the forested empires of central India.
The Bhanja monarchs were lavish patrons of both the arts and diverse religious philosophies. Under their enlightened rule, Khiching evolved into an extraordinary religious melting pot where Shaivism, Shaktism, Vaishnavism, Buddhism, and Jainism coexisted peacefully within the same civic walls. Archaeological surveys have identified over 40 ancient mounds, fortified ramparts, brick stupas, and ruined temples scattered across the landscape.
The supreme jewel of this ancient capital is the magnificent temple of Maa Kichakeswari, the tutelary goddess of the Bhanja royal family, revered as an intensely powerful manifestation of Goddess Chamunda / Durga.
On-Site Archaeological Museum & Relic Collection
Do not miss the State Archaeology Museum located directly inside the temple compound. Housed in a heritage stone pavilion, it displays magnificent 8th-to-12th-century chlorite statues of Mahisasuramardini, Avalokiteshwara, Buddha, and Jain Tirthankaras excavated from the surrounding citadel mounds of Khijjinga Kota.
The Black Chlorite Deula: A Triumph of Lapidary Reconstruction
What sets the Kichakeswari Temple completely apart from all other temples in Odisha is its construction material: the entire monument—from the foundational plinth to the crowning Kalasa finial—is hand-carved exclusively from dense, fine-grained black and dark-green chlorite stone (muguni pathara), quarried from nearby hills.
Standing approximately 100 feet (30 meters) high, the temple is an exquisite Rekha Deula displaying an austere, majestic verticality. Unlike the later heavily cluttered ornamentation of Lingaraj, Khiching's architectural style exhibits classical restraint, characterized by sharp vertical ribs, deep recessed niches, and perfectly joined dry-stone masonry erected without mortar.
The temple also represents a triumph of modern Indian archaeological restoration. By the early 20th century, the original medieval temple had collapsed into a colossal heap of rubble. In 1934, the visionary Maharaja Purna Chandra Bhanj Deo and his chief archaeologist, Sailendra Nath Roy, meticulously cataloged every fallen chlorite block and reassembled the entire 100-foot monument piece by piece in an exact stone-for-stone reconstruction that remains a landmark in Indian monument preservation.
The Inner Sanctum: Goddess Chamunda & Chlorite Reliefs
Inside the cool, shadowed interior of the sanctum sanctorum is enshrined the ten-armed image of Goddess Kichakeswari (Chamunda). Sculpted from a single block of lustrous black chlorite, the deity is depicted in a fierce yet maternally protective posture, trampling a demon, adorned with a garland of severed heads (Mundamala), holding Tantric weapons, and smiling with transcendent serenity.
The exterior walls and doorways of the temple feature some of the finest stone relief carvings in Indian art history. The entrance portal is framed by delicate concentric bands depicting undulating floral scrolls, celestial Vidyadharas, and graceful river goddesses Ganga and Yamuna standing on their respective aquatic mounts.
Surrounding subsidiary shrines within the compound include the Chandrasekhar Temple and Kutaitundi Temple, which preserve pristine 10th-century Shaivite carvings, demonstrating the remarkable fluidity and anatomical realism achieved by the master sculptors of the Khiching guild.
Preservation of Chlorite Bas-Reliefs
The entire temple is constructed from fine-grained black chlorite stone. Avoid rubbing, scratching, or applying vermilion to external wall carvings. Photography inside the inner sanctum of Maa Kichakeswari is strictly prohibited.
Living Craft: The Khiching Traditional Stone Carvers
The extraordinary artistic genius that built the Kichakeswari Temple has not vanished into history; it lives on today in the hereditary stone carving families of Khiching village. For over thirty generations, local artisans have continued the ancient tradition of carving intricate sculptures and household utensils from native black chlorite and green serpentine stone.
Visitors walking through the village lanes can watch master artisans seated in open-air courtyards, using traditional iron chisels and wooden mallets to shape rough blocks of black stone into lifelike idols of Jagannath, Buddha, and dancing apsaras.
Khiching's stone carvers are equally renowned for crafting elegant, polished stone kitchenware: deep mortar-and-pestle sets, smooth grinding stones, and polished black stone plates that are believed to preserve the medicinal nutrients of cooked food.
Visitor Planning, Archaeological Museum & Travel Routes
Khiching is situated in Mayurbhanj district, approximately 140 km west of Baripada, 55 km northwest of Keonjhar, and 130 km south of Jamshedpur (Tata Nagar) in Jharkhand. The most convenient route is to travel via Keonjhar town, from where private taxis and regular buses reach Khiching in about 1 hour and 15 minutes along NH-49.
The temple compound and the on-site Archaeological Museum are open daily from 6:00 AM to 6:30 PM with free entry. Early morning or late afternoon visits provide the best lighting to admire the lustrous sheen of the black chlorite stone against the open sky.
Khiching is ideally combined with an exploration of northern Odisha's highland circuit. Pair your visit with the twin waterfalls of Badaghagara and Sanaghagara in Keonjhar (55 km southeast), the sword-blade cataract of Khandadhar Falls (80 km southwest), or an entry into Simlipal Tiger Reserve via the Jashipur gate (50 km east).
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