Bhubaneswar is the capital of Orissa and is said to once have had 7,000 temples.
Now only a few hundred ancient temples remain. The Lingaraja temple
is one of the most impressive temples in India. Regrettably, non-Hindus
are not permitted to enter, but can view the temple only from the
outside.
There is no real downtown area; rather, everything is spread out.
The railway station and the old bus stand are close to each other
in the center of town. The New long-distance bus station is about
5 km west of the center of the town. Most of the temples are located
in the southeast section of the city, near the Bindu-sarovara Tank.
Bhubneswar, Puri and Konark, the three temple towns of Orissa make
up the glorious golden temple triangle of the Eastern India. The
capital of the eastern Indian state of Orissa has many sites worth
visiting. Many of the Hindus and the Buddhist flock to the city,
a religious center.
Your trip to the city will cover the pilgrimages of all the religions
whose common center happens to be the city of Bhubaneshwar. Your
visit to the Parashurameshwara Temple will reveal the masterpiece
of the Orissa style of temple architecture, which followed very
rigid parameters, set by the ritualistic books. The temple that
was built way back in 650 AD boasts of some exquisite carvings and
sculpture.
The trip to the remarkable Parashurameshwara temple will be succeeded
by the 10th or 11th century Lingaraja temple has been described
as “the truest fusion of dream and reality”. The temple soars to
a height of about 55 meters and dominates the skyline for miles
around especially after the collapse of the Sun Temple at Konark.
A noted art critic and historian Fergusson remarked that the spectacular
Lingaraja temple was “perhaps the finest example of purely Hindu
temple in India”. Elaborate carvings cover every inch of the surface
of the fifty-five-meter Lingaraja temple. The sculpture and architecture
fuse harmoniously to give the elegance to the temple. You may follow
the devout pilgrims and must first offer worship at the Lingaraja
temple before offering your prayers at Jagannath temple at Puri.
Besides
the great Hindu temples stand Buddhist shrines in and around the
city of Bhubaneswar. The triangle of ancient Buddhist monuments
at Lalitgiri, Ratnagiri and Udaigiri at a distance of 90 kilometres
from Bhubaneshwar form yet another golden triangle of eastern India.
At a distance of 8 kilometres from the city amidst the peaceful
and serene environments lies the great Buddhist shrine of Dhauli.
The pilgrim spot is renowned for its rock edicts of Ashoks. At the
spot after the Kalinga victory in the year 261 BC that Ashoka, the
Mauryan emperor adopted non-violence and took to Buddha’s teachings
of non-voilence.
Coming
to the triangle, Udayagiri is known for its bell-shaped stupa signifying
Vajarajana Buddhism. Ratnagiri is famous for the ruins of a monastery
housing a four-armed Avalokiteshara, a figure of ‘Heruka’, a form
of meditating Buddha, a figure of ‘Tara’, the female counterpart
of Buddha and the images of Buddha in bhoomisparmudra, which is
considered to be a rare posture. You will also visit the site of
one of the most prized discoveries in recent times. A tiny gold
casket was spotted inside a silver casket, which in turn was placed
within a stone casket in Lalitagiri. The gold casket contained relic
tiny bones believed to be those of Buddha.
