Maa Samleswari Temple, Sambalpur

Samaleswari Temple is a Hindu temple in Sambalpur, Western Odisha, India, dedicated to the goddess known as 'Samaleswari', also known among the natives as samalei maa, meaning Mother Samaleswari. Shree Shree Samaleswari, the presiding deity of Sambalpur, is a strong religious force in western part of Odisha and Chhattisgarh state of India. On the bank of the river Mahanadi, the mother goddess Samaleswari is worshipped from ancient times as Jagatjanani, Adishakti, Mahalaxmi and Mahasaraswati, and is the mother of the universe. After Lord Jagannath, she is the only Goddess in Odisha who is the presiding deity of such a large region including the complete Western Odisha, parts of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. The region in which the temple is situated has a rich cultural heritage. Sambalpur region is popularly known as Hirakhanda from ancient times. Ptolemy has described the place as Sambalaka, according to Tavernir, the French explorer, and Edward Gibbon, the English historian, diamonds were exported to Rome from Sambalpur. ()