According to Puranic legends, the 'right thigh' of the corpse of Devi Sati had fallen here when it was chopped off by Lord Vishnu with his 'Sudarshan Chakra'.

The ancient temple, originally called Maa Sarvanand Kari Patneshwari, is believed to be the abode of the goddess Durga.

According to the Tantra Charumani, the small images of the Bari Patan Devi Temple, Patna are the Goddess Mahakali, Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswati.

But a historian called Buchanan was very specific in stating that it was this very temple (Choti Patendevi) which held the primary position as the city's presiding deity during 18th and early 19th century.

The images inside the temple, if Buchanan is to be believed, were installed by Man Singh, the famous general of the Mughal emperor Akbar.

The temple, however, houses a host of intact and severed Brahmanical images, including, Ganesh, Vishnu and Surya.

According to many historians, it is very likely that some early medieval temple was built here sometime in 9th-11th Century CE and these fragmentary stray sculptural/structural relics are only its ruins.

On Saptami, Ashtami and Navami (Durga Puja)during the mela about 1000 people come to offer prayers daily at either of the two temples.

As regards the routine of the rituals, the deity is daily bathed morning and evening and this is followed by offerings of prasad (fruits and sweetmeats etc.)