Rajiv Lochan - A ballad of folklores intertwined in the spiritual mores of vedic yore - the abode of the divine lord Vishnu and the lord among lords Mahadev manifest in Rajiv Lochan & Kuleshwar Mahadev. It is believed that the sacrosanct feets of Kuleshwar Mahadev even pacifies the raging Mahanadi during blustering monsoons.
Originating at the sihawa hills, the holy river adorns the leaves of the sacred Mahabharata epic, where it is significantly mentioned as the Chitrotpala in the "Bhishm Parv", with Utpaleshwar Mahadev at its fountain and Chitra Maheshwari Devi at its inflow. Chitrotpala thus bears a distinct label of being Punya Dayini (bestower of grace) and Paap Nashini (destroyer of sin).
Being a confluence of three rivers (namely Mahanadi, Sondur and Pairi) Rajiv Lochan is considered, as Holy and scripture consentient, as the Triveni Sangam Prayag (Illahabad).
According to the prevalent folklore, once lord Vishnu asked lord Vishwakarma to construct a temple on such a place in Earth where there had been no cremation in its vicinity of about a score kilometer. Vishwakarma searched in vain, returned empty handed reporting the same, upon which lord Vishnu hurled a Lotus from Heaven and instructed lord Vishwakarma to build the temple where the lotus falls.
Thus a temple (of lord Vishnu) was built upon the nectars of the heavenly lotus known today as the Rajiv Lochan temple, and the 5 petals eventuated the Panchkoshi Dhaam viz. Kuleshwarnath (Rajim), Champeshwarnath (Chamaranya), Bramhkeshwarnaath (Bramhani), Pandeshwarnath (Fingeshwar) and Kopeshwarnaath (Kopra).
There's a popular belief that bathing in the Padmanabh lake at Rajim cures all physical ailments. The place was called Padmanabhpur in vedic times, renowned to be a haven of redemption or Moksha Dham.