RAJBIRAJ, APRIL 9President Ramchandra Paudel paid homage to goddess at the Chhinnamasta Temple here this morning.

The Chhinnamasta Temple is a famous religious and tourism site at Chhinnamasta Rural Municipality-3 in Saptari district. President pays homage to goddess Chhinnamasta President Paudel wishes spiritual awakening on Mahashivaratri festival The Head of State offered special worship and received tika, flowers and prasad on the occasion.Lawmakers, local security persons and office-bearers of the Temple Management Committee welcomed the President at the Temple premises.

On the occasion, the Rural Municipality Chair Bidhananda Chaudhary presented a souvenir to the President.Addressing a programme after paying obeisance at the temple, President said Chhinnamasta is the ancient and historic shrine in the Tarai-Madhes and expressed his happiness to pay a visit to such a holy place as the Head of State.He stressed on the need of bringing about an agricultural revolution in the district by completing the Koshi-Kamala Diversion Irrigation Project.

"Saptari is in my heart.

I support all positive initiatives of this district," he added.The Chhinnamasta Temple is taken as the 52nd largest goddess shrine among the various goddess shrines around the world.Peethadhish (main priest) Mahakanta Thakur said the Jagatguru Balsanta had declared Chhinnamasta as one of the major goddess shrines in the presence of the first President of Nepal, Dr Ram Baran Yadav, in 2065 BS.Shedding light on the origin of this shrine, the main priest Thakur said a certain king named Shakra Singh, while on one of his hunting trips around a thousand years back, found the idol of the goddess Chhinnamasta from the Pokhare cave and set up an ordinary temple.After that, the then Railways Minister of India Lalit Narayan Mishra in 2039 BS commissioned the construction of a bigger temple dedicated to the goddess at the same site in his gratitude to surviving in a plane crash.The Chhinnamasta Temple complex spreads on a total 14 bighas land and is dotted with ponds and temples of various other gods and goddesses.It is believed that one's wishes are fulfilled when offering worship to the goddess Chhinnamasta.

Thousands of devotees from Nepal and India visit the Temple for worshipping and performing religious rituals.Male goats and pigeons are sacrificed here daily.

A big religious fair takes place during Dashain festival every year. .

This article first appeared/also appeared in https://thehimalayantimes.com