Rajrappa Shakti Peetha

Rajrappa Mandir, commonly known as Maa Chhinnamastika Temple, is located in Ramgarh district, Jharkhand, at the dramatic confluence of the Bhairavi and Damodar rivers. The shrine is dedicated to Chhinnamasta, the self-decapitated form of the Divine Mother and one of the Mahavidyas of Tantric Shaktism. A natural rock form covered by a metal kavacha is worshipped as the goddess. The meeting of the swift Bhairavi with the broader Damodar gives the temple a powerful landscape setting that is closely interpreted through Tantric symbolism.

Regional Shakti Peetha tradition associates Rajrappa with the place where Sati’s head fell. The goddess is worshipped as Chhinnamastika, and Kabandha is named as the accompanying Bhairava in the source tradition used by this database. This identification is widely repeated in local accounts but is not consistent across every principal classical Peetha list; it should therefore be retained as an established regional tradition.

Chaitra and Sharad Navratri are major festival periods, with special worship and increased pilgrimage. Makar Sankranti also brings large gatherings to the riverside area. Ritual offerings, including a long-standing sacrificial tradition, form part of the temple’s living practice. Rajrappa is significant not only as a regional Peetha but also as one of eastern India’s best-known Chhinnamasta temples, where theology, river geography and popular devotion meet.