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 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.
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