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 BAUDHA
Siva
Temple of Baudha - Baudha
The siva temple
at Baudha, seem in all appearance, to belong to the early period
of the Somavamsi supremacy. The fine execution of the temple with
its superb proportion and exquisite finish of the scluptures and
other decorations indicate a resurgent movement linked up probably
with the advent of the Somavamsi dynasty.
BALASORE
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.
BHANJANAGAR
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.
BHUBANESHWAR
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.
CUTTACK
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.
DHENKANAL
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.
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KONARK
Sun
Temple - Konark
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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. More
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PURI
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