My Trip to Shri Ram Raja Mandir Orchha – How to Reach, Timings, & History

Shri Ram Raja Mandir or most commonly known as Orchha Temple is an ancient famous Hindu pilgrimage site in Orchha town of Madhya Pradesh near Jhansi city. It is a very unique temple because here Lord Ram is not only worshipped as a God, but also as a king. Lord Ram even gets a gun salute or Guard of Honour five times a day from the official Madhya Pradesh Police personnel.

Isn’t it strange? According to Hindu legends, Lord Ram was the king of Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh) but why he is getting that much respect in Orchha? Don’t you wanna know why and how this all started?

This article covers everything one needs to know about the Shri Ram Raja Temple in Orchha town. In this article, I am going to tell you about the complete history of Ram Raja Temple, the best time to visit, temple timing, my trip experience, and a detailed travel guide to reach the Ram Raja Temple in Orchha.

Ram Raja Mandir in Orchha is one of the 40 best places to visit near Gwalior city of Madhya Pradesh.

Best Time To Visit Ram Raja Temple & Mandir Darsan Timing

The Winter season is the best time to visit Orchha. The city of Orchha offers a comfortable cool winter climate that approaches in December and lasts till February. During Winter the weather becomes so pleasant that it lets devotees comfortably worship Lord Ram and admire the temple’s exquisite architecture.

However, one can also visit Orchha during the monsoons as the rains are mostly average here. The rains bring newness and also offer lush green countryside. Monsoon starts in Orchha by the end of July and it lasts till September. I suggest you don’t visit Orchha during summer as the weather here is extremely hot and exhausting.

Ram Raja Temple time-table between March/ April to September/ October (Phagun to Kwar) –

• Aarti: 8:00 AM
• Sandhya Aarti: 8:00 PM
• Rajbhog Chik: 12:00 PM (15 Min.)
• Rajbhog Aarti: 12:30 PM
• Vyari Chik: 10:00 PM (15 Min.)
• Vyari Aarti: 10:30 PM

Ram Raja Temple time-table between October/ November to January/ February (Kartik to Magh) –

• Aarti: 9:00 AM
• Sandhya Aarti: 7:00 PM
• Rajbhog Chik: 12:30 PM (15 Min.)
• Rajbhog Aarti: 1:00 PM
• Vyari Chik: 9:00 PM (15 Min.)
• Vyari Aarti: 9:30 PM

Note: Ram Raja Temple remains closed after Rajbhog Aarti till Sandhya Aarti.

Complete History of Ram Raja Temple in Orchha

The history of Ram Raja Mandir in Orchha is very interesting and it takes you back about 600 years. During that time, the king of Orchha was a devotee of Lord Krishna and his wife was a devotee of Lord Ram. This often led to a dispute between the king and queen.

Once king asked the queen to go to Vrindavan, but she politely declined it and insisted to go to Ayodhya. The king got annoyed and told the queen to go to Ayodhya, but return only with Lord Ram. The queen accepted the challenge and took a vow that she would return with Lord Ram or else she would drown herself in Ayodhya’s Sarayu river.

On reaching Ayodhya, the Queen started praying to Lord Ram and after praying for many days when Lord Ram did not appear, so eventually in despair, she jumped into the Sarayu river. That’s when something magical happened, the queen found herself on the banks of the river with Lord Ram as a child in her lap.

Then the queen asked Lord Ram to come with her to Orchha, he agreed but placed 3 conditions in front of the queen. First, he would only travel in Pushya Nakshatra. Second, on reaching Orchha he would be the new & only King of Orchha, and third, he would stay in the first place he was put down from the queen’s lap.

After listening to this news, the king was very apologetic and he ordered his servants to start building a new & magnificent temple for Lord Ram. After returning to Orchha, the queen went back to her palace with Lord Ram and retired to her room for the night, only to take Lord Ram to the newly constructed temple the next day.

But according to Lord Ram’s conditions he took the first place where he was seated, hence Lord Ram transformed into an idol and got transfixed in the queen’s palace itself. From that day to this day the Ram Raja Temple is in the queen’s palace and not in that newly constructed temple which is situated right next to the palace.

My Trip To Ram Raja Mandir Orchha From Gwalior

Few days before I visited Orchha’s Ram Raja temple from Gwalior city on a bike. It was a beautiful day of monsoon season with little rain which makes the journey so mesmerizing. It was my first trip to Orchha and I don’t know the best way to reach it, so I asked one of my friends to come with me as he visited Orchha a couple of times and was familiar with the route.

We head to Orchha at 7 o’clock in the morning from Gwalior. The road distance to Orchha from Gwalior city is around 130 kilometers. We took the best and shortest route to Orchha from Gwalior which is the Gwalior-Jhansi highway. We took the first halt around 50 kilometers from Gwalior at Sonagir to have tea.

The next halt we took was at Datia’s famous Pitambara Mata Temple to take the blessings of Mata. After offering prayers at Pitambara Mata Temple we head to Jhansi. One thing I would like to mention here is that all the way from Gwalior to Jhansi, the road/ highway was in excellent condition.

From Jhansi, there are two ways to reach the Orchha temple. One is going through the city of Jhansi and the other one is via the Jhansi-Kanpur highway route (outskirts of Jhansi). We go through the highway route but on returning we choose to come through the city of Jhansi to have a tour of this heritage city.

We reach Orchha at around 10 o’clock and head to Jhansi-Tikamgarh road for a few more kilometers till we reach the temple/ fort road (Orchha-Prithvipur road). Here you will find a welcoming door of Orchha temple and after going on this road for a few more kilometers, one will reach Orchha’s Raja Ram temple.

I parked my bike in a dedicated paid parking area located just in front of the temple premises. There are many shops located near the temple to eat and buy various stuff. A small yet free super specialty hospital is also available just outside the temple for any emergency and normal health-related services.

The architecture of Ram Raja Temple is beautiful yet it fails to give a historical feel. Painted in yellow and red, the Ram Raja Mandir doesn’t look like a 600 years old monument. The temple was very neat and clean from the inside, there were separate queues/ lines for males & females.

There was not so much rush at the temple that day, MP Police personnel standing outside the Lord Ram pooja grah as their guards. We took the blessings and sit inside the temple to see the Gaurd of honor during the Rajbhog Chik at 12:00 PM. I tried to click pictures inside the temple but the temple priests and security guards stopped me.

Next to the Ram Raja temple one more temple is situated known as Chaturbhuj Temple where Lord Ram was actually supposed to be placed. Later Lord Vishnu’s life-size idol was installed in the sanctum of Chaturbhuj temple. Chaturbhuj temple’s architecture is very magnificent and it looks really amazing.

How To Reach Ram Raja Temple In Orchha Madhya Pradesh

Now I am going to provide you with a complete & detailed travel guide on how to reach Ram Raja Mandir in Orchha town of Niwari district of Madhya Pradesh. Orchha is located near Jhansi city and Jhansi has great connectivity with the rest of India through rail and road means of transport.

Orchha Mandir Address: Survey No. 457, Tikamgarh-Jhansi Road, Fort Road, Orchha, Madhya Pradesh

Reaching Orchha Mandir By Air – 

• Gwalior Airport is the nearest airport to Orchha which is located around 130 kilometers from Ram Raja Mandir.

Reaching Orchha Temple By Rail –

• Jhansi railway station is the nearest railway junction to Orchha, which is 18 kilometers away from the temple.

Reaching Orchha Mandir By Road –

• Orchha is well-connected by road to places like Jhansi, Gwalior, and Khajuraho.

Best Way To Reach Orchha From Jhansi Uttar Pradesh

From Jhansi city, the Ram Raja Mandir is just 18 kilometers away. The only way to reach Orchha from Jhansi is to go via road. There are two road routes from Jhansi to Orchha. The first and most popular route is to go through inside the city of Jhansi and the other one is to go via the Jhansi-Kanpur highway route (outskirts of Jhansi).

The best route to reach Orchha from Jhansi is to go through the city as it is the shortest route. One can easily hire a cab or taxi to Orchha Mandir from Jhansi. The average fair will be around 40-60 rupees per person. Travel fair charge increases during the festive season (Ram Navmi, Diwali, Dusherra, etc) due to the high number of tourists.

• Ram Raja Mandir Orchha travel distance from Jhansi – Approx. 18 kilometers
• The time takes to reach the Orchha Mandir from Jhansi – Approx. 30 minutes

Below is the important information on the approximate travel distance of Ram Raja Mandir Orchha from some of the famous locations-

Ram Raja Mandir Orchha travel distance from Datia – Approx. 48 kilometers
Ram Raja Mandir Orchha travel distance from Sonagiri – Approx. 60 kilometers
Ram Raja Mandir Orchha travel distance from Gwalior – Approx. 130 kilometers
Ram Raja Mandir Orchha travel distance from Bhind – Approx. 195 kilometers
Ram Raja Mandir Orchha travel distance from Morena – Approx. 175 kilometers
Ram Raja Mandir Orchha travel distance from Agra – Approx. 255 kilometers
Ram Raja Mandir Orchha travel distance from Mathura-Vrindavan – Approx. 310 kilometers
Ram Raja Mandir Orchha travel distance from Jaipur – Approx. 465 kilometers
Ram Raja Mandir Orchha travel distance from Delhi – Approx. 480 kilometers
Ram Raja Mandir Orchha travel distance from Ayodhya – Approx. 460 kilometers
Ram Raja Mandir Orchha travel distance from Indore – Approx. 495 kilometers
Ram Raja Mandir Orchha travel distance from Ujjain – Approx. 450 kilometers
Ram Raja Mandir Orchha travel distance from Bhopal – Approx. 340 kilometers
Ram Raja Mandir Orchha travel distance from Orai – Approx. 120 kilometers
Ram Raja Mandir Orchha travel distance from Jabalpur – Approx. 375 kilometers
Ram Raja Mandir Orchha travel distance from Bina – Approx. 195 kilometers
Ram Raja Mandir Orchha travel distance from Khajuraho – Approx. 175 kilometers
Ram Raja Mandir Orchha travel distance from Rewa – Approx. 325 kilometers
Ram Raja Mandir Orchha travel distance from Satna – Approx. 290 kilometers
Ram Raja Mandir Orchha travel distance from Tikamgarh – Approx. 90 kilometers
Ram Raja Mandir Orchha travel distance from Banda – Approx. 250 kilometers

Here I am also sharing a video of my trip to the Orchha temple. Watch this video to have a virtual tour of the temple –

I hope this article answers all your queries related to Ram Raja Temple in Orchha town of Niwari district of Madhya Pradesh near Jhansi city. If you still have something to ask then feel free to use the comment section below.

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