AMI/AMBIKA DEBI - Bihar

AMI/AMBIKA DEBI—25:37”:: ; 85:30”

Continent – Asia

Country—India

State—Bihar Dist.-Siwan(Chapra) .Distance from the country capital Delhi-1830 km-via Varanasi by rail .Postal pin code 841301

.STDcode o6152

Approach—The site area can be approached by rail as wel as road. journey up -to Dighwara railway station on Sonpur –Chapra rail line can be taken from any part of the country. From where a distance of about 5 km is to be covered on local transport like jeep , cycle rickshaw ,or auto rickshaw,horse cart etc.

Language-Generally hindi and bhojpuri is spoken

Stay: Only dharamshala(shelter house)is available in temple premises .

Food—Bihari style food with mixed maithil and bhojpuri taste,rice.dal,subjee chura,dahi and satu etc.are available in pass way line hotels and motels .Drinking water

Sweet water is available for drinking purposes.Local transport—Cycle rickshaw auto rickshaw and horse carts are local transport in general.Jeep and auto rickshaws can be reserved from Chapra

ABOUT THE SITE--The temple of Durga and the site here concerns

the story of the Durga deity as described in Durga saptsati/ Markanday puran that she appeared before king Surat and Vaisya(businessman) .Mythologically this is the area of the Megha rishi ashram.They were preached by the rishi toworship goddess durga They made Earthen statue of the goddess on the bank of the Ganges and worshiped with full faith. The goddess was pleased and appeared before them and blessed them to be free from the illusion of the world.That is why the symbolic statue of the deity Durga is represented here in the temple by Kacha Earthen mound .

The temple campus is spread over in an area of 15 bigha of land. The earthen mound ofstatue is 5’ high and stands on 4’x 4’ square platform Asmallkund(ditch) is there near the earthen mound statue.This ditch is masical in the sense that it always contains water in it .The height of the water surface level remains always constant. The bottom of the ditch can be touched by hand drop.This way the depth or the kund can be imagined that it is very shallow.Amount of watermore than capacity of the volume the ditch whendropped in it does not over flow.It is immediattlly sucked by the sub surface geostructure of the ditch and it maintains its original water surface level immediately.