About the Place & what to see :

Ranipur-Jharial, in Titilagarh sub-division of Balangir district is an important archeological site. It is 104 km from Balangir and 35 km from Titilagarh. Known as 'Soma Tirtha' in scriptures, the twin villages of Ranipur-Jharial was a place which combined a cross section of religious faiths like Saivism, Buddhism, Vaisnivism and Tantrism. In ancient times these places were two very rich kingdoms. Queens were living at Ranipur and Jharial was a fort. Somavanshi keshari kings built many temples here and these temples can be dated back to the 9th/10th century AD. It is said that there were at least 200 temples covering an area of about half a mile in length and and a quarter of a mile in width. The largest stone temple is 'Someswar Siva', which stands on the banks of the river. It was constructed by a famous Saivik Acharya Gaj Siva whose inscription can be found on the lintel of the temple.


The Hypaethral Temple
Ranipur-Jharial houses one among the four(the other three are at Hirapur near Bhubaneswar, Khajurao and Bheraghat near Jabalpur)existing rare monuments of Hypaethral temples ( temples without roofs meaning open to the sky) dedicated to 64 Yoginis in India and also some other ancient temples. While the images at Hirapur are made of black chlorite stone, the images at Ranipur-Jharial are made of sandstone. The temple of 64 Yoginis of Ranipur-Jharial is famous not only for its beautiful architecture but also for its religious significance. Three-faced Shiva embracing Parvati stands at the centre of the temple encircled by 64 images of the Yogini goddesses in various positions . Unfortunately, out of 64 Yoginis, many are missing at present. The cult of Yogini worship in Orissa began in the 9th century. Shiva Ratri mela is also celebrated in Ranipur-Jharial each year where devotees from far off places come.

The remarkable 20 mtr high temple of Indralath of this place is said to be the highest brick temple of ancient India.