However, the growing tensions between Nandapur and Hyderabad forced the Qutb Shahi Sultans to take stringent steps in order to maintain control over the territory of Kalinga.

Due to these interferences and skirmishes, the king shifted his capital to a new place and named it Jayapura or "City of Victory".

The fort was then known as Jaypur Garh and it served as a robust bastion for the next eleven descendants of Vir Vikram Dev.

Dedicated to the local goddess said to be an incarnation of Maa Durga, this temple attracts people far and wide for the belief that wishes come true here.

The branches - like very thick strong ropes - of these trees were huge and long, intertwined so densely that their origins and endings could not be identified easily.

Many affluent families of the undivided Koraput district also visit this temple to sort out their problems and seek the blessings of Mother Dongar Devi.

This ancient temple stands for the royal connection of Purunagarh, being the ancestral Goddess (Istadevi) of the kings of Jeypore.

Huge drums belonging to the past era and magnificent, larger-than-life paintings adorning the walls of the sanctum on all sides, make visiting this temple a daunting task for the weak hearted and people with the slightest of guilt.

Innumerable tales about the fiery nature of the Goddess, her bent head, animal sacrifice, punishments doled out to the sinners, of her relationship with the priests, the royal family and the people are abound regarding this temple.

It is here that the ritualistic Ghanta Paraba - a festival similar to Bonalu where a representation of each goddess of a particular locality is taken in a clay pot to other parts to be worshiped - begins at Purunagoda.