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Bhattarika Temple is located on the bank of Mahanadi River, at Sasanga village in the tehsil Badamba, (formerly Athgarh), Cuttack district, India. It is dedicated to the Hindu Goddess Maa Bhattarika worshipped as a manifestation of Shakti.

According to a popular legend this pitha is established by Parsuram and also he carved the image of the goddess in the tip of his arrow.

 As per the mythology when Parshurama (an avatar of Lord Vishnu) got defeated by the Saharasjuna many a times, he then prayed to Goddess Durga by mediating on a stone. The Goddess delighted with his meticulous appeal appeared and gave power to Parshurama. With the divine power rejuvenate in Parshurama, he defeated the Saharasjuna. The place where Goddess appeared is said to be the location where now the Bhattarika Temple is being situated. 

According to the Oriya Ramayan, Ram, Lakshmana and Sita on their way to Panchvati paid prayer to the Goddess Bhattarika. The Mankadagadia hill on the other side of Mahanadi where the foot mark of Ram, Lakshmana and Sita are worshipped is also quite significant.

Another local legend says that Krishna and Satyabhama visited Bhattarika and it was revealed to Arjun during his Agyantavasa. The Demon Gosimha kidnapped Satyabhama in disguise during that period. Arjun fought bravely and killed Gosimha demon. After that Krishna,Satyabhama and Arjun prayed Goddess Bhattarika; the presiding deity of the Badamba royal family.

There is also a famous belief that at the time of Bhaumakara rule in the State of Kalinga, the particular place where the Bhattarika Temple is located was associated with Tantric Buddhism. It is also said that the images in the temple are converted into the Hindu fold by the Somavamsis who were believed to be the strong enemies of Buddhism. Although the tiny Buddhist image is still placed in the central niche after so many decades passed. The present Tara image also appears to be of a later insertion and not of ancient times.

There is also a story behind the name of the place where the Bhattarika Temple is located i.e. Badamba. As per the legend of Badamba, once the Gajapati of Orissa ordered Hattakishor and Mallakishor the two famous brothers who use to craft the entire city, to establish two villages named Mahuri and Sankha. Later on they became the king of those villages and when they tried to construct a Fort in their villages a chief of a tribe opposed them and that resulted into a huge battle fought between the king and the tribe. In the battle the tribal chief died and before the his death his wife advised the Gajapati to worship Goddess Bhattarika. Bruhatamba is another name of Goddess Bhattarika and hence the Gajapati decided to name the place as Bruhatamba. Later on the name was changed to Badamba which is still the same.

In the interior of the Bhattarika Temple there are eight small images of Goddess Bhattarika are present. Of these eight, three are in the Lalitasana holding a lotus in one hand and Varadamudra in the other hand, and all the other five are in padmasana. An image which is also in the Lalitasana has Pasha, Bow, Arrow and Ankusha in her four hands and hence it is known as Para Bhattarika. She is said to be the ‘suryopasanatatpara’ and in the Jagamohan of the Bhattarika temple God Sun is being worshiped. The images along with the Goddess Bhattarika are Prabha, Jaya, Maya, Sukshma, Suprabha, Abhaya and Visuddha. As per the Buddhist "Yogachara" system, Devi Bhattarika is being seated in the center of Chakra associated with all the eight deities. The priest worships the goddess as Mahamaya, Rajarajeswari, Tripura Sundari, Shodashi, and Para Bhattarika. Several history scholars opine that the place has a link with Buddhism.