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Odisha Part 9 : The Vaital Temple, Bhubaneshwar

The Vaital temple is of the many intriguing temples in Bhubaneshwar. To begin with, the structure itself resembles a South-Indian temple more than the typical Kalingan style that we see everywhere else in Odisha. The temple has been dated to the last quarter of the 8 th century CE. Further , unlike most of the temples in Bhubaneshwar, this temple is not dedicated to Lord Shiva. Inside the sanctum is one of the deities who is very rarely seen in a sanctum – Chamunda, along with the Saptamatrikas. This is evidently a Shakta shrine. However, the presence of Lakulisha on the vimana indicates the connection with the Pasupata sect, which is most prevalent in this region during this time period. Further, the name of the temple – ‘Vaital’, comes from the word ‘ vetala’ , referring to spirits, which were invoked by tantrics to attain siddhis. Thus, this temple is an amalgamation of Pasupata and Shakta philosophy, with a strong emphasis on tantric rituals, and this is reflected in the iconogra...
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Indibloggies 2008 Winners Announced

The Indibloggies 2008 results are out, and while I am not on the list, it was great just to be nominated among those whose blogs I have been following for quite some time. I have had a lot of fun going through all the blogs which were nominated, and it was a great pleasure to read about those who won.

In the travel category, the winner is Lakshmi, and hearty congratulations to her!!

Check out all the winners by clicking on the link below..

Indibloggies 2008 Winners Announced | Indibloggies - The Indian Weblog Awards | Indian Blog Awards



P.S. I am trying out new things everyday... This has been posted using the Blog This! Chrome Extension...

Comments

  1. LakshmiDecember 18, 2009 at 10:41 AM

    Thanks Anu for the mention and wishes..Congrats to you too..:)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bhavesh ChhatbarDecember 22, 2009 at 4:57 PM

    So generous of you Anu!

    Also, your new try worked fine :) I found one problem with it however. If I click on the post title "Indibloggies 2008 Winners Announced", it's taking me to their site, not opening your post!

    And oh yes, I recently went to Bhangarh. You may like it.

    Again, you're very generous.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anuradha ShankarDecember 24, 2009 at 2:13 PM

    @Lakshmi : thanks a lot..

    @Bhavesh: thanks for telling me... guess i have linked directly to the other one...

    and i loved your Bhangarh post.... but after i left the comment, i realised that i was logged in through another account.. my comment is in my hubby's name - Shankar :-)))

    ReplyDelete

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