Location

Province: Province 2

This temple is at Sakhada Village of Chinnamasta Rural Municipality. It is 10 kilometres south of Rajbiraj, the district headquarters. The Bhagwati Devi of this temple is also called Chinnamasta Bhagwati, Sakhada Bhagwati, Sakhandeswori and Sakhada Mata. However, she is mainly called Chinnamasta because she does not have a head. 

The temple is constructed in Nepali architecture style. At the centre of the temple, there is a black stoned statue of the Devi without a head. Alongside this, there are statues of Dakshinkali, Mahesh Mardini, Chamunda and Bharavi. Hence, all of them are collectively called Pancha-bhagini. There are 10 mahabidyas (shakti knowldege) in Tantra sashtra and Chinnasmasta is one of them.

How to reach

One can reach the temple from Rajbiraj. Local vehicles take around half an hour to get to this Shakti Peeth. Rajbiraj can be reached by roadway and airway from Kathmandu. Once in Rajbiraj, local buses or city rickshaws can be easily accessed to the temple. 

Significance & Traditional beliefs

Previously, Chinnamasta was the panchayat (panchayat is similar to the present-day court where law and order was maintained). Five people were given the power to mete out justice with Goddess Bhagwati as the witness of Sakhada village, and after the reformation of the panchayat system, the Village Development Committee was established under the same name as Bhagwati Chinnamasta. 

Sakhadeswori was the main deity of the clan of Simranghad’s King Shakral Singh (1275-1303 B.S. or approximately 1218-1246 A.D.). King Shakral Singh abdicated his throne to his son Kumar Hari Singh Dev because of the pressure of his advisors and went to live in the Sakhada area of Saptari. 

At that time, Sakhada was a forest area. According to legend, when he was asleep in the woods, Goddess Bhagwati appeared in his dream and informed him that there was a trishul under his bed and other statues nearby. She directed him to worship those holy objects, leading to his purity and good faith. After waking up, the king did accordingly and found a trishul and statues. So, he established a temple and worshipped Bhagwati for the rest of his life. It is also believed that one should not lie inside the temple’s vicinity, and if one does it is considered a supreme sin. 

However, when Gaya Samsudin Tughlaq from Kolkata attacked this land in 1322 and 1349 B.S. (1265-1292 A.D.) the temple was destroyed. It was at that time Bhagwati’s head was broken. After which, the statue became Goddess Chinnamasta (Chinna- broken Masta- head).

Main festivities and Jatras

On Navaratri during Dashain (September/October), a huge mela (fair) is organised. A replica of the head of the Goddess that is made in silver is worshipped. On other days, the head is not adjoined to the statue. In addition, rituals are performed from time to time. 

It is believed that the thigh of Sati Devi, God Shiva’s first wife, is located here. In the central part of the temple, there is a water reservoir that is 500 feet (153 metres) deep. It does not dry even during extreme droughts. The platform is carved with a mystical diagram, also known as ‘Shri yantra’. Around all sides of the pool, walls have been erected upon which the garden of the temple stands. 

There is a black stone statue of Bhagwati in the temple, which is the main place where people worship the goddess. However, other figures of Vishnu, Mahadev, Hanuman and Shani, among other gods-goddesses, are worshiped right after the main Bhagwati Devi has ben worshipped. There is a belief that no pilgrimage is complete if one does not visit Chinnamasta. People also bring their newly-bought vehicles to the temple to receive blessings.

There are food and accommodation facilities and also an artificial pond to take a bath.