| Danteshwari Temple | |
|---|---|
दंतेश्वरी | |
 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Hinduism |
| District | Bastar |
| Deity | Danteshwari (Shakti) |
| Location | |
| Location | Dantewada |
| State | Chhattisgarh |
| Country | India |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Hindu temple architecture |
| Completed | 14th century |
Danteshwari Temple is temple dedicated to Goddess Danteshwari, and is one of the 52 Shakti Peethas, shrines of Shakti, the divine feminine, spread across India. The temple built in the 14th century, is situated in Dantewada, a town situated 80 km from Jagdalpur Tehsil, Chhattisgarh. Dantewada is named after the Goddess Danteshwari, the presiding deity of the earlier Kakatiya rulers. Traditionally she is the Kuldevi (family goddess) of Bastar state,[1][2][3]
The temple is as according legends, the spot where the Daanth or Tooth of Sati fell, during the episode when all the Shakti shrines were created in the Satya Yuga.
Every year during Dusshera thousands of tribals from surrounding villages and jungles gather here to pay homage to the goddess, when her idol was taken out of that ancient Danteshwari temple and then taken around the city in an elaborate procession, now a popular tourist attraction part of the 'Bastar Dussehra' festival.[4][5] There also a is tradition of lighting Jyoti Kalashas during Navaratris here.
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 499.
- ^ History of the temple Archived 20 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine Dantewada district Official website.
- ^ Danteshwari Temple Archived 2010-09-23 at the Wayback Machine Chhattisgarh State Tourism, Official website.
- ^ Danteshwari Temple
- ^ Celebration in tribal land The Hindu, Dec 14, 2003.