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Odisha Part 7: The Rajarani Temple, Bhubaneshwar

The Rajarani Temple in Bhubaneshwar gets its name from the stone used to build it - the red and yellow sandstone used here is locally called Rajarani. This temple was once known as the Indreshwara temple, which is mentioned in the Ekamra Purana, which tells us about the temples of Bhubaneshwar, which was then known as Ekamra Kshetra. Today, the temple stands in a well-maintained lawn, and is the only ticketed monument within the city. The temple is built in the typical Kalinga style, with the tall curvilinear shikara over the garbagruha , and a jagamohana connected to it. The temple is believed to date back to the 11 th century, and is most well known for its sculptures. The entrance to the temple has two pillars with a Naga couple protecting the sanctum, holding garlands in their hands. The base of the pillar shows 3 lions standing over 3 elephants, a typical motif in temples of this region during this period. On the other side of the pillar is a horse and rider, and the two mo...
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Navaratri Experiences-4

The first three days of Navaratri are dedicated to the goddess Parvati, and yesterday was the last of this phase. When I told my son about this, he decided that since he could not dress up as Parvati obviously, he would dress up as Shiva, his main interest was in being allowed to hold a Trishul. Of course we refused, so he compromised by agreeing to wear a ‘Veshti’ and making a Trishul with his blocks. We hosted the Navaratri Bhajan at our place yesterday, and this gave him an added reason to dress up. “If you all can wear lovely sarees and dress up, why can’t I dress up too?” was his legitimate question. You can see the results in the photographs below.

From Miscellaneous

From Miscellaneous


At the temple, the decoration was dedicated to BHUVARAHA SWAMY – this is the form of Vishnu when he too the form of a wild boar – the Varaha Avatar. The lord took this form when the demon Hiranyaksha hid Bhoomi Devi (Mother Earth) in the ocean. In the form of a wild boar, the lord Carried Bhoomi Devi out of the water and placed her carefully in her place before going back to kill the demon. Here, He is depicted as carrying Bhoomi Devi in his arms. This form of Vishnu is seen at Tirupati, where He is believed to have given the land to Lord Venkateswara, allowing Him to reside there. It is customary to have darshan of Varaha swamy before having darshan of Lord Venkateswara.

From Miscellaneous

People who want to buy a house or land pray to BhuVaraha Swamy or participate in the Bhu Varaha Yagna. In Tamilnadu, there is a famous temple of Bhuvaraha swamy at Srimushnam near Chidambaram. In Karnataka, there is a gigantic 21 feet high image of Pralaya Varaha Moorthy with a 6 feet tall Lakshmi sitting on his lap, at Kalahalli in Krishnarajpet Taluk in Mandya District.

From Miscellaneous

That’s all for today folks. Hope to get back to all of you tomorrow with lots more photographs.
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