Samasingha

On the Jharsuguda-Belpahar Road 21 km from Jharsuguda lies the village Lajkura. In the vicinity there is a hill known as "Maheswar Pahad" where the remains of an old holy fort attracts the attention of historians, researchers and tourists.

At the foot of Maheswar Pahad, there is a village named "Ulap". The ruins of Ulapgarh are located about one kilometre from the village. Here, the Maheswar pahad is about 1,000 feet (300 m) high and on the top there is a huge plain, where the fort of Ulapgarh stands. The plain is about 400 metres long and 250 metres wide. On the eastern side of the fort there are several kilometres of densely forested Baramunda Hills and on the western side, the Belpahar Railway Station is located at a distance of 5 km. On the north there is a dense forest stretching up to Hemgir and in the south stretching up to the village of Badjob.

A moat, 4 metres wide and 150 metres long, runs east to west. There was a Sivalingam and a place of worship in the Fort. A well dug within the Fort provided drinking water to the residents of the Fort throughout the year.

On the stone floor, there are many square and round holes, with diameters varying from 1-3 inches. Wooden poles used to be inserted into these holes to support super structures for living space, storage, arsenals, kitchen, sleeping areas and so on.

About 1000 people could take shelter at Ulapgarh at a time. On the western side of Ulapgarh and down the slope there is a cave named Ushakothi. On the walls and floors of this cave there are also circular and square holes, which the defence personnel of the fort may have used to suspend their clothes and other belongings from wooden poles fitted to these holes. The soldiers of the dense forest of Maheswar hill could easily overpower the enemies before they could climb up the hill and attack the fort.

It is believed that Ulapgarh was being used as a residential fort by kings of the Naja Dynasty. Indian and foreign researchers and historians are researching in this direction.

The Hirakud reservoir lies 60 km from Jharsuguda, near Bhikampali. There was once a town called "Padampur" located where the Mahanadi river leaves Madhya Pradesh and enters Orissa to pour into the Hirakud reservoir. The Sanskrit dramatist "Bhabahbhoti" was believed to be born here. The Bajrajan Tantraof Buddhism may have originated here.

Padmasini is the reigning goddess of this town. The Padmasini temple was constructed in the seventh century A.D. by a Chalukya king; the original temple decayed and was believed to be reconstructed by the Chouhan king of Sambalpur in the 16th century. The Jagmohan of original temple reveals a striking resemblance to architecture of the Chalukya era.

Even the stone statue of the goddess Padmasini bears striking similarities to the style of the Chalukya period. In the whole of Orissa, this Padmasini Temple is a unique example of Chalukya art and architecture. In 1956, Padampur was submerged in Hirakud reservoir, but the deity was shifted to a new temple at nearby Pujaripali. It is uncertain who made the original statue of Padmasini, although it is probably also seventh century in origin.

This important place of ‘Shakti Worship’ is 10 km. away from Jharsuguda town inside a cave. Rampur Dandapat (Jamindari) was created during the reigning ‘Chhatrasai Dev’ the 7th King of Sambalpur (1657–1695). One Khytriya youth of Rajpotana belonging to Gaharwal family ‘Prannath Singh’ with his valour subdued the local aborigines of Rampur area in IB basin and received Rampur area as Jagirdari from Chhatrasai Dev, the ruling king of Sambalpur. The Rampur Jamindari had an area of 786 sq. miles. Davi Ramchandi has been worshipped as the reigning deity of the Rampur region since time immemorial. Many pilgrims and devotees come to the Rampur cave from far and near to worship the goddess Ramchandi.

The Koilighugar water fall is situated 55 km away from Jharsuguda in the Lakhanpur block near the village Kushmelbahal. A rivulet named ‘Ahiraj’ originates in the ‘Chhuikhanch’ forest and while flowing through its rocky belt falls from a height of 200 feet (61 m) creating the water fall of Koilighugar. After the fall the rivulet flows westwards to merge into the Mahanadi river.

Inside the fall there is a Shivalingam known as ‘Maheswarnath’. The lingam is submerged in water and not ordinarily visible. If somebody tries to see it from inside the water in winter and summer the lingum is visible under the reflected sunlight, hence for the benefit of the pilgrims another Sivalingam has been created outside the waterfall. There is an Ashram of a holy man, or Saham swami near the water fall. Every year a fair sits in Kalighugar on the occasion of Maha Sivaratri.

The Jhadeswar temple is located at a distance of about 1 km. from the Jharsuguda Railway station beyond the old town Purunabasti inside a small forest. There is a Swayambhu Sivalingam here the actual age of which is unknown; during the reign of Govind Singh Jamindar of Jharsuguda the lingam was worshipped inside a hut made of leaves. In 1916, a Gujarati contractor named Mulju Jagmal erected a small temple here. The Jamindar of Jharsuguda arranged Savayats for daily worship and donated agricultural lands for maintenance of the temple and puja. The temple was renovated in 1969 by a philanthropist from Calcutta, Lt. Surajmal Mohota. Since 1916 a fair takes place here on every Sivaratri day. The Jhadeswar temple area has important significance in the history of Jharsuguda. On the eastern side of the temple the original ‘Jharguda’ settlement has grown. On its northern side there was a settlement of ‘Gond subject’ of the Jamindar of Jharsuguda. Jhadeswar temple is recognised as original Siva shrine. ‘Adyaswambhu pitha’ of Jharsuguda. A small garden has been grown near the Jhadeswar temple which is used as a picnic spot.

It is situated at the top of a small hill on the eastern side of Jharsuguda and is another place of attraction in the District. The temple was constructed by a Gujarati Contractor Lt. Bitthal Bhai Saha in 1921. With its natural surroundings and because its accessibility, it attracts a lot of visitors. From the hill top a bird’s eye view of Jharsuguda town enthrals the visitors.