The Maa Budhi Thakurani Temple is the most important religious site in Berhampur and the focus of the biennial Thakurani Yatra — one of Odisha's most distinctive city festivals. For roughly a month every two years (usually in March–April), the goddess is processed out of her shrine in a temporary structure built in a different city neighbourhood each time, and the entire urban core becomes one continuous procession, fair, and street market.
Outside festival times the temple itself is modest, but it remains the symbolic centre of the city. A short walk through the surrounding bazaar streets is the easiest way to understand how Berhampur sees itself.