About the Temples of Orissa

Much needs to be said about the temples of Orissa. The Golden triangle of Orissa comprising Bhubaneswar, Puri and Konark attracts tourists from around the world. There are hundreds of lesser known temples in Orissa. The city of Bhubaneswar abounds in temples built over a range of several centuries.

The temples of Orissa exhibit a majestic grandeur. An Orissan temple (deul) usually consists of a sanctum, one or several front porches (jagamohana) usually with pyramidal roofs, a dancing hall (nata mandir) and a hall of offerings (bhog mandir). The Lingaraj temple at Bhubaneswar boasts of a 150 foot high deul while the Janannath Temple at Puri is about 200 feet high and it dominates the skyline of the town. Only a portion of the Sun Temple at Konark, the largest of the temples of the Golden triangle exists today, and it is still staggering in size. It stands out as a masterpiece in Orissan architecture.

Orissa's history dates back to the days of the Mahabharata. It was under the rule of the Nanda Kings in the pre Christian era and then under the Mauryan rule. Rock edicts of Emperor Ashoka are found in the State. The impact of the invasion of the Guptas is seen in the early temples of Bhubaneswar. The Matharas ruled Orissa from the later half of the 4th century AD. The Sailodbhavas who followed constucted several shrines the ruins of which can be seen today. (600-750 AD).

The period of the Bhaumakaras and Somavamsis (8tth to 11th centuries AD) played a major role in the cultural life of the State. Saivism dominated the religious scene although Budhist, Jain and Vaishnavite monuments also came into being. The Gangas took over after the decline of the Somavamsis. The early Eastern Gangas ruled from Kalinganagara (Mukhalingam near Srikakulam Andhrapradesh). They shifted their capital to Cuttack in the 12th century. Saivism began to decline while Saktism flourished. Further, the religious leader Ramanujacharya had a great influence on the monarch Chodagangadeva who built the great temple at Puri. The Gangas were champions of Vaishnavism. It was during the Ganga rule that Orissan architecture reached its peak. Narasimhadeva of this dynasty built the Sun Temple at Konark.

The Gangas were succeeded by the Suryavamsi Gajapati rulers, under whom Vaishnavism in the form of Jagannatha worship reached new heights. This period was marked by the influence of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and by the construction of Jagannatha temples across the length and breadth of the empire. After the decline of the Gajapatis, the kingdom began to disintegrate and was taken over by followed by Muslim rule, the rule of the Mughals, the Mahrattas and then the British. The Bhoi Gajapatis who ruled Orissa over a small territory caused several Jagannatha temples to come up.

Remuna - Balasore

The temple of Kshirachora Gopinatha that stands here at a distance of about eight miles from Balasore district,is a modern one;but the image of Gopinatha is certainly much older than the time of Srichaitanya who visited it as evidenced by the Gaudiya Vaisnav literature.The deity had originally no image of Radha associated with it.

Badagaon Temple - Bhanjanagar, Ganjam

Badagaon is small village situated 5 miles from Bhanjanagar of the Ganjam district. A stone Siva temple which is to be found there, is a close prototype of the Parasurameswar. In plan & elevation, in the scheme of decoration, in height & dimension, it shows such remarkable affinities with the Parasurameswar that a conclusion becomes unavoidable to regard them as close contemporaries.

Rajarani Temple - Bhubaneshwar

Although the Rajarani temple has been one of the most notable monuments of the place, such a name does not occur in any of the four sanskrit texts that profess to deal with the history of Bhubaneswar from the orthodox standpoint.

The names of all Saiva temples at Bhubaneswar ends with Eshwar, e.g. Parsurameswar, Brameswar, Mitreswar, Yameswar etc. The names of non- Saiva temples have been derived from their presiding deities,e.g.,Gauri temple,Parvati temple, Mohini temple and Ananta-Vasudev temple etc.

Brahmeswar Temple - Bhubaneshwar

The next dated temple, Brahmeswar, shows mature workmanship and advanced architectural features. Here the canons of Orissan architecture is found to have been fully applied. Among the dated temples it is the earliest one where iron beams have been used, and where porch or the Jagamohana consists of the full-fledged Pidha-Deula with the usual crowinging members. It is a pancha-ratha temple with five plasters, namely two corner plasters, two intermediate ones & one central one, fully developed which give the structure almost a rounded appearance.

Sureswar & Gouri Temple - Bhubaneshwar

There are two other temples at Bhubaneswar, which may be regarded as close contemporaries of the Mukteshwar temple. One of them is the Sureswar, a very small structure which stands near the Kotitirtheswar temple in the close neighbourhood of the Swarnajaleswar temple and the other is the Gouri temple situated in the compound of the Kedareswar temple.

Bhavanishankar Temple - Bhubaneshwar

It has been recently discovered while digging a drain in the compound of the later Bhavani- shankar temple and it is to be found between the Lingaraj temple and the Vindu Sarovar tank. This is a very small temple with attractive gestures.

Anata-Vasudeva Temple - Bhubaneshwar

The plan of the Anata-Vasudeva temple differs considerably from that of the other temples. The main temple stands on an uniform platform, a peculiarity which is the first of its kind in a dated temple, and has a three- chambered frontal adjunct consisting of Jagamohana, the Natamandira and the Bhogamandapa. It is stated in the epigraph that a temple was built for SriKrishna & Valaram on the bank of Vindu Sarovar tank by Chandrikadevi, daughter of Ananga- bhimadev III,in the Saka era of 1200 (1278 A.D.).

Satrughaneswar Temple - Bhubaneshwar

This temple belongs to the 6th century A.D. group of temples. Even the earliest extant temple, the Satrughaneswar, is found to be a mature conception and origin of the monument apparently lie further back. It represents a Sikhara temple and its shape as available now after restoration and a few sculptures that still exists on the monument or have been recovered from it, supply affinities with those of the Dasavatara temple at Deogarh. The sculptures of the Satruganeswar are marked by the vigour & exuberance of the designs recalling the best characteristics of the Post-Gupta Art.

The ruined temple of Laxmaneswar standing by its side appears to be a closely analogus monument in shape as well as form and it seems to be an immediate successsor of the Satrughaneswar.

Swarnajaleswar Temple - Bhubaneshwar

It stands on the road from the Lingaraj to the Kedargouri temple and was in a utterly ruined condition, but the structure is being restored now. The evidences that connect with the Parsurameswar are that the cult images in both have attributes and that both possess close architectural affinities. It bears on the lintel of its northern niche a scene of Lord Siva's marraige, which can be regarded as a replica of the same scene carved on the lintel of the eastern niche of the Parsurameswar. The Swarnajaleswar like all the early temples also bears several scenes from Ramayana & The Mahabharata in a sunken panel running round the Vimana and making the transition between the Vada and the Sikhara.

Sari Deul Temple - Bhubaneshwar

It is situated just behind the Jagannath Ballabh Matha on the southern side of Vindu Sarover.The temple both in dimension and workmanship is in no way inferior to that of Ananta-Vasudev, but with houses surrounding it on all sides,it is now relegated to an obscure corner. It is a typical example of a Sapta-Ratha temple and its art & architecture provide ample evidence to indicate that it belonged to the Ganga period.The pilasters have been over crowded with numerous scrolls containing the favourite designs of the Ganga art.

Yameswar Temple - Bhubaneshwar

It is a fairly large-sized temple situated on the left side of the road to the Khandagiri. It bears all the peculiarities of a Ganga monument. Its stands on a high plinth and had a side structures in front of the niche containing side deities. It shows advanced architectural features in being Sapta-ratha in plan, in having corbelled arch and iron beams and seven pillasters.

Bhaskareswar Temple - Bhubaneshwar

It stands about a quarter mile to west of the Megeswar. The local people make a confusion between these two temples and assign the name of one to other. The Bhaskareswar contains a huge Siva lingam, about 9 feet high and 12 feet & 5 inches in circumference, which has charecteristically been described in the local sacred texts as Vrihalingam.

Yogini Temple - Bhubaneshwar

On the outskirts of Bhubaneswar is Hirapur village with its Hypatheral temple of sixty-four Yoginis.One among them the two such distinguished temples in Orissa and four such in India,it has beautiful Yogini images -a great study for the connoisseurs of art & architecture.The second one is located at Ranipur-Jharial with a plethora of others temple.

Lingaraj Temple - Bhubaneshwar

The temple of Lingaraj by far the most notable temple not only of Bhubaneswar but also of Orissa, and according to expert opinions is also one of the best archaeological monuments of the East. Rising to a height of about 180 feet and dominating the entire landscape within an area of about 10 miles, this great temple represents the quintessence of the Kalinga type of architecture and the culminating result of the architectural activities at Bhubaneswar. Its stands in the midst of a number of smaller temples within a spaceous compound of laterite measuring 520 feet in length and 465 feet in breadth and having gates on the east, north & south.

Singanatha Temple - Gopinathpur, Cuttack

It is situated in a rocky island in the Mahanadi river and can be approached from the village Gopinathpur in the Cuttack district. It is also one of the earliest standing temples of Orissa and it shows close affinities both in art and architecture with the earliest group of standing temples.

Papanasini & the Kapileswar - Dhenkanal

After the Gangas,the glorious period of temple- building activities in Orissa was over,but the spirit lingered on during the succeeding period of Suryavamsi supremacy which also witnessed the erection of some notable temples in Orissa.The half-ruined porch standing near the papanasini tank still bears an inscription referring itself to the reign of Kapileswar(A.D.1435-1467).The decorative female figures which adorn the half-ruined porch,merely represent the crude imitations of their earlier prototypes.The inscribed slab that contains the elephant procession and an image of Nataraja carved on the northern wall of the structure,represent no doubt,fine specimens of art of this period,in the close vicinity of Kapileswar is a pancha-ratha temple and is similar to the Mukteswar of Bhu- baneswar.It niches,the Naga and Nagi columns,scroll works,Alasa-kanyas and half amalakas on the gandi provide clear evidence that the temple was built about tenth century A.D.

Sun Temple - Konark

Sun Temple

The Sun Temple at Konark with its fantastic loneliness on the wind swept sand dunes of the Bay of Bengal fringed with palm and casuarina plantations is a breath taking monument. Fashioned in the form of a chariot, drawn by seven spirited horses, the temple is profusely sculptured with exquisite figures and figurines fired by an astonishing energy trapped on stone. It is a stunning master piece of the 13th century Kalingan style of art and is one of the unrivalled technical marvels that the age has produced. Replete with erotic sculptures, human beings in diverse forms and activities, depiction of flora and fauna, long scroll of elephants, beasts and birds and life size images of damsels playing on musical instruments in exotic rapture, the monument stylised as it is, brings a sensuous beauty and creates a dream land for the visitors.

Jagannath Temple - Puri

It is the earliest Ganga monument of Orissa, but it must be noted that the ganga temples of much earlier dates are still to be traced in the Andhra regions, the original seat of power of Gangas. There is a definite mention in all the later copper plate records of the successor of Chodaganga that he was the builder of this great temple at Puri. According to some evidence sources that Chodaganga had began this huge structure and one of his successor Ananagabhimadev III completed it or added the Jagamohan to it.

Lord Vishnu

The height of the Jagannath temple of Puri as calculated as 215 feet 8 inches. It is therefore the loftiest religious edifice of Orissa. At present the thick coat of plaster which had covered the structure for centuries has been removed. As is usual in all great temples of the period, the monument stands on a high platform which is connected with the ground level by a height of 22 very very big steps. The edifies is masive and strong and is a product of accummulated experience of the past in temple architecture and this factor has enabled it to with stand the ravages of time.

Leaning Temple Huma - Sambalpur

Huma is home to the famous leaning temple dedicated to Lord Bimaleswar. Situated about 32 km from Sambalpur, on the bank of the Mahanadi river, it offers tourists a beautiful view of the surrounding environs. Kudo fishes are found aplenty in the river at this point. It is a case of "you can look but you cannot touch", since popular belief has it that the fishes belong to Lord. Bimaleswar.

Nrusinghanath Temple - Sambalpur

The Vidala-Nrusimha Temple stands amidst the verdant beauty of the picturesque Gandhamardan hills. Nrusinghanath is a popular and attractive pilgrim point. Coupled with a series of beautiful waterfalls and some sculptures, its location offers an air of serenity and visual delight, making the trip worthwhile. It is only 165 km away from Sambalpur.