Temples are an integral part of Chattisgarh culture. Rajim is known as the temple town of Chhattisgarh. Most of the temples in Rajim are constructed in the 8th and 14th Century AD. Rajiv Lochan Temple built in the 8th Century is the most famous among them. This temple is devoted to Lord Vishnu. There are beautiful sculptures of Vamana, Trivikrama, and Narasimha. The story of this temple goes like this, a woman, who made a living by selling oil, decided to build a temple for Lord Vishnu, but she was worried that none would visit a temple due to her lower caste. However, Lord Vishnu himself assured her that her temple would be the first one in the complex and everyone would have to cross it to visit the Rajiv Lochan temple, which was visited often and also is more lavish. There are several unique features connected with the Rajiv Lochan temple. One of them is that unlike other temples in the country, only Kshatriyas were employed as pujaris.
The idol of Lord Vishnu is decorated dearly in this temple. The idol is made in beautiful black granite, is attired in unstitched garments that are folded over the idol. Lord Vishnu in the Rajiv Lochan temple is dressed up in different phases of life, at different phases of the day. Another fable that abounds is that Rajim is situated on a lotus and is also known as `Panchkashi` as it has five shivalingams in the different temples.
On every full moon night there are celebration at the temple and a fair follows it. In the music of drums and pipes carries a procession of people carrying `madai`, a large pole decorated with colorful ribbons and festoons. This announces the celebrations and the bigging of the fair.
Close by is the ninth century Kuleshwar temple standing at a height, on a tiny island, right in the midst of the converging rivers. It is said that the temple becomes unapproachable during the monsoon when the rivers are in full.
