Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa, is popularly known
as the "Temple City of India" as it had once
more than 5000 temples. Being the seat of Tribhubaneswar
or 'Lord Lingaraj', Bhubaneswar is an important Hindu
pilgrimage center. The city offers you a perfect unison
of traditional past with the modern present. The new Bhubaneswar
with its modern buildings and extensive infrastructure
perfectly complements its historic surroundings.
The Great Lingaraja temple, (eleventh century), has been
described as 'time quintessence of Orissan architecture'.
It reflects the Orissan temple architecture at its zenith.
The deul (tower) of the Lingaraja reaches a height of
just over 180 feet (55 meters). It is completely curvilinear.
The jagmohana (porch), the natamandira (hall of dance)
and the bhoga-mandapa (hall of offering) are other structures
of the temple that indicates the range of activities carried
out at the temple. There are 150 subsidiary shrines within
the vicinity of the temple. However, non-Hindus cannot
visit the temple.
Another famous temple of the city is the Mukteswar Temple,
called as the "miniature gem of Orissan architecture",
presents the expressions of Kalinga School of architecture.
This 10th century temple has carvings and inscriptions
of stories from the Panchatantra. The 'torana' (arched
gateway) of the Mukteswara deserves special attention.
Its extraordinarily beautiful sculpture includes elaborate
scrolls, graceful female figures, monkeys, peacocks, and
a wealth of delicate and lovely decorative detail, which
you can see through the tour packages for Bhubaneshwar.
The Parsurameswara temple (c. 650 AD) is the earliest
temple of the city. Dating back to the 11th century
is another elegant temple, the Raja-Rani Temple, which
celebrates the female form. Cactus garden situated close
to the 'Ekamara Kanan' in the city is another place
worth visiting.
Just 7 km. west of Bhubaneswar are the twin hills of
Khandagiri and Udaygiri, the next major Orissan historical
monument after Ashoka's rock-cut edict. The rocks hills
were carved and tunneled, to create this multi-storied
ancient apartment residence for Jain monks that you
can see on the tour packages for Bhubaneswar.
Surrounded by paddy fields, the Dhauli hill brings back
memories of the historic 'Kalinga war', which was fought
here. Dhauli has also gained prominence due to the establishment
of a Buddhist Peace Pagoda, popularly known as Shanti
Stupa
Hirapur, the 11th century Hypaethral temple of sixty
four Yoginis, Atri, the hot sulphur water spring, Nandankanan,
the biological park carved out of the Chandaka forest
are the other places around Bhubaneswar worth visiting.
Recommended Itineraries
Temple Tour of India
India Tours and packages offer tour packages, tour
itineraries and tours for Bhubaneswar, India.
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