|Tourism in Orissa
Major Temples is Orissa
Puri Jagannath Temple: Famous Hindu temple dedicated to Jagannath (Vishnu) and located in the coastal town of Puri in the state of Odisha, India. The name Jagannath (Lord of the Universe) is a combination of the Sanskrit words Jagat (Universe) and Nath (Lord of). The temple is an important pilgrimage destination for many Hindu traditions, particularly worshippers of Krishna and Vishnu, and part of the Char Dham pilgrimages that a Hindu has to be visited in one’s lifetime. The temple is famous for its annual Rath Yatra, or chariot festival, in which the three main temple deities are hauled on huge and elaborately decorated chariots. Since medieval times, it is also associated with intense religious fervour.
Konark: It is the site of the 13th-century Sun Temple (also known as the Black Pagoda), built in black granite by King Narasimhadeva-I (AD 1236-1264) of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty. The temple is a World Heritage Site. It takes the form of the chariot of Surya (Arka), the sun god, and is heavily decorated with stone carving. The entire complex was designed in the form of a huge chariot drawn by seven spirited horses on twelve pairs of exquisitely decorated wheels. The entrance is guarded by two lions, which are each shown crushing a war elephant. Each elephant in turn lies on top of a human body. The temple symbolises the majestic stride of the Sun god. The Konark Temple is connected by excellent all-weather roads with Puri (35kms) and Bhubaneswar (65kms) which are also nearest Railheads. Nearest Airport is Biju Pattanaik Airport, Bhubaneswar.
Lingaraja Temple: Lingaraj TempleThe great Lingaraja (eleventh century), which soars above the city of Bhubaneswar and dominates the landscape as far as 15 kms away, represents Orissan temple architecture at its most mature and fully developed stage. It has, in fact, been described as “time quintessence of Orissan architecture”.
Mukteswar Temple: The temple is in Bhubaneshwar in Orissa, not far from the Parsurameswar Temple. The small and elegant Mukteswara temple (c. AD 950) is often referred to as the “miniature gem of Orissan architecture”. The frequency with which the term gem is employed will be immediately appreciated with the very first glimpse of this delicate, refined little structure.
64 Yogini Shrine: On the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, 15 km south-east of the city, is a small, circular temple, the Yogini Temple, dating to the early ninth century. It is hypaethral (open to the sky), and belongs to a genre of architecture completely apart from the major Orissan school. Although it seems that temples of this type existed throughout India at one time, today only four remain. Two of them are in Orissa; the shrine at Hirapur, and one in the far western reaches of the state, at Ranipur-Jharial.
Rajarani Temple: Rajarani Temple is an 11th century shrine in Bhubaneswar. Originally, it was known as Indreswara, and serves as a shrine to Shiva. It is known for its conspicuous and lively sculptures, especially the female figures, portrayed dancing and engaged in other activities. Rajarani Temple stands on a raised platform. Its spire is decorated with clusters of turrets (replication of the spire itself) emerging form the rib of the spire. The sculptures on the Rajarani Temple have a depth that was lacking in the Mukteswara Temple sculptures. The Jagamohana (porch) though demonstrating a pyramidal structure is yet to take on as a complete structure of its own. It bears signs of repair in 1903 when it collapsed into ruins.Guardians of the Eight Directions’projecting from the base of the temple in the eight directions, starting from the gateway in a clockwise direction around the porch and the deul to end back at the torana.