Kakatpur Mangala Temple, Hindu temple in Kakatpur, Odisha, India

Kakatpur Mangala Temple stands on the eastern bank of river Prachi in Puri district, featuring traditional Kalinga architectural elements and stone carvings. The shrine follows the typical Odia temple layout with a central garbhagriha and an outer prayer hall supported by carved pillars.

The present temple was built in 1548 by the local zamindar Panchanan Mitra Roychudamoni, who also arranged its servitors. Local tradition holds that the deity was recovered from the river Prachi by a boatman after the goddess appeared in his dream and asked to be installed at Mangalapur. The village name Kakatpur derives from the Odia words for a detained crow, after a crow dived at the recovery spot and did not resurface.

The name Kakatpur comes from Odia kaa-kaw (crow) and aw-taw-kaw (detained), after a crow that dived where the boatman recovered the idol and never resurfaced. During Nabakalevara, priests from Jagannath Temple in Puri sleep before the goddess; she appears in their dreams and points to the three Daru Bramha trees for the new idols.

Visitors can reach the shrine by road from Bhubaneswar, Puri, and Cuttack, with the nearest railway stations located in Bhubaneswar and Puri. Early morning or late afternoon visits work best when the sun is less strong and ceremonies take place.

Inside the shrine, a solid stone bed shows signs of wear, which locals attribute to Goddess Mangala resting there after her daily tours of the universe. Priests place flowers and oil on this stone bed daily, as if preparing an ordinary sleeping space.