Virajā Kshetra is the main Śākta tīrtha of the Utkala region on the eastern coast of Bhārata-varsha. It lies in the ancient Jājpur area. Here the own śakti (power) of Bhagavān Vishṇu is present as Virajā Devī.

The Brahma Mahā Purāṇa treats Virajā straight after Ekāmra and before the great Purushottama section. Virajā Kshetra is one of the three great tīrthas of Utkala. It is the Śākta place beside the Śaiva Ekāmra Kshetra and the Vaishṇava Purushottama Kshetra.

Name

The kshetra takes its name from Virajā Devī, its presiding devī. Viraja means free of rajas, pure. She is untouched by the tamas and rajas guṇas and is wholly pure. The devī of this kshetra is the śakti side of the Vaishṇava tradition. She is not apart from Bhagavān Vishṇu. She is his own power of consciousness, shown in a place where that power is gathered and easy to reach. (Brahma Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 42)

The three kshetras of Utkala

The Brahma Purāṇa deals with the three kshetras of Utkala one after another: Ekāmra (Chapter 41), Virajā (Chapter 42), then Purushottama (Chapter 44 onward). The three are:

Ekāmra Kshetra: the Śaiva centre. Bhagavān Śiva is the guardian deva, set there at the direction of Bhagavān Vishṇu.
Virajā Kshetra: the Śākta centre. The own śakti of Bhagavān Vishṇu is present as Virajā Devī.
Purushottama Kshetra: the Vaishṇava centre. Bhagavān Jagannātha is the supreme deva.

Together they make the whole sacred land of Utkala. In it the three streams of Sanātana Dharma, Śaiva, Śākta and Vaishṇava, each have their highest abode. (Chapters 41–44)

Virajā Devī and Bhagavān Vishṇu

At Virajā the devī is the śakti of Bhagavān Vishṇu and not a separate deva. She is his own power to create and to protect, taking a form that worshippers can approach in devotion. (Chapter 42)

Sources

Brahma Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 42; Chapters 41 and 44 onward for the order of the three kshetras