Dudhadhari Math Mandir Dudhadhari Temple, built in the 17th century, is the oldest temple in Raipur. The ancient mysticism of the temple attracts Lord Rama devotees. Relating to Vaishnavism, the Dudhadhari temple has original sculptures from the Ramayana period. The artifacts of the Ramayana period are very rare, which makes this temple special in its own way. Knowledge is that there was a great (devotees of Swami Hanuman who lived in the name of Swami Ballahdada Das).He survived only on milk (“Dudh-Ahari”) and hence, this temple dedicated to Lord Rama came to be known as Dudhadhari Temple. The outer walls of the temple built by the Kalachur king Jait Singh (1603–1614 A.D.) are decorated with sculptures related to Lord Rama. This ancient temple is a wonderful destination for all pilgrims and art lovers.Balabhadra Das Mahant Hanuman, the founder of the 1000-year-old Dudhadhari Mutt of the capital, was a devotee and one day suddenly disappeared. Since then, important decisions in relation to the monastery are taken in his memorial. The decision to enter the politics of the present Mahant Shyamsunder Das ji was also taken here.
The temple complex has the tomb of Mahant Balabhadra Das. It is a tradition to take all major decisions here. It is said that Balabhadra Das suddenly disappeared one day in the morning. His disciples saw him walking in the morning. When they were nowhere to be found, they were assumed to have taken samadhi. After this, his mausoleum site was constructed and all decisions are taken there today.Another story is prevalent about Dudhadhari Math. Balabhadra Das Mahant, the founder of the monastery, was a great devotee of Lord Hanuman. He considered a piece of stone as Hanuman and started worshiping it with reverence. They bathed that stone with the milk of their cow Surhi and then consumed the same milk. In this way they gave up food and consumed milk for life. In this way Balabhadra Mahanta became a milk diet. Later the place became known as Dudhadhari Math.Saint Garibdas of Jinthra, Rajasthan, had his camp here, saint Balbhadra Das of his tradition. Balabhadra Das was born in Anandpur in Jodhpur district of Rajasthan as the son of Pandit Shambhudayal Gaur but his work place was Raipur in Chhattisgarh. They traveled first to Maharashtra and then to Chhattisgarh. Impressed by his miracles, many kings and emperors became his disciples.He stayed for a long time in the Sri Ram Janaki temple built by Mahant Garibdas in Pavani in Bhandara district. It was here that he made Garibardas his mentor and became Balabhadra Das from Balamukund. After this he came to Raipur.
In 1610, Dudhadhari Math was built by King Raghurao Bhosle for Balabhadra Das. The monastery has its own ancient history. This monastery houses temples of many deities. Balaji Temple, Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple, Rampanchayatan and Veer Hanuman Temple are prominent among them. Ramayana scenes in this temple belonging to the Vaishnava sect have been crafted in an attractive way. Maratha paintings are still present in the temple.
This monastery belongs to the Ramanand community. The monastery has two parts, one in which Lord Balaji is established and the second part is dedicated to Ram Panchayatan. The artwork of different parts of the state can be seen here. According to archaeological experts, the architecture of the building of the monastery is influenced by the Orissa style and the ornamentation here is similar to the Maratha style. Historians say that all the material brought from Sirpur has been used in the construction of the temple.