The Biraja (or Viraja) Temple is the heart of Jajpur's pilgrim life. The compound sits at the edge of town and is the reason Jajpur exists as a religious centre at all — Goddess Viraja is the presiding deity of the whole region, and Hindus performing ancestral rites at the Dasashwamedh Ghat first come here to seek her blessing. The current structure dates mostly from the 13th century, though the cult and the site itself are far older, with references in the Skanda and Brahma Puranas.
The main image is a two-armed Mahishamardini Durga in chlorite — unusual for its restrained iconography compared to the eight- or ten-armed Durgas elsewhere in Odisha. The compound contains dozens of subsidiary shrines tucked between mango trees, plus a sacred tank where pilgrims bathe before darshan. Mornings are the best time; the courtyard fills with families performing shraddha rituals, and the air thickens with incense and clarified butter.