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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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Out in the garden

No holidays, no vacations... no travel, no blogs to write... For more than a month, I have only been reading blogs... not writing any.... Of course, I have come across a number of interesting blogs in this period. You can check them out in the "Blogs I Follow" list on the side bar.

Well, sitting at home, I have been looking for things to write about, and finally, I have found what I wanted, right in my back-yard, so to speak! I am lucky to live in an area, right in the middle of the concrete jungle that is Bombay, where time stands still and nature remains undisturbed, thanks to some bureaucratic muddle. Some time back, I had put up a post on Sulekha, about the abundance of nature in my garden. Check it out here.

Samhith had been pestering me to carry my camera along every morning while we waited for his bus, and when I finally agreed, I was rewarded with some wonderful sights. As they say – Seek and Ye Shall Find!


To begin with, I always thought Ashoka trees were those which grew straight up, and were purely decorative..... Then, last week, roaming around our compound with a camera, I saw this tree with flowers which looked very much like the Ashoka, only a little different. Our neighbour who tends to the garden informed me that this was the real Ashoka - the tree under which Sita is believed to have sat in Lanka..... and has beautiful flowers!!! Take a look.......

Here is the tree……
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…..and here are the flowers…..

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…..and here is a close-up of the flowers….

Picture 447
Beautiful, aren’t they!!!!!

Here are some more photos I have taken in our garden…………


Pomegranate Fruit and Flower -
Picture 448 Picture 458









Samhith loves the pomegranates that grow in our garden, though we rarely get to eat any…. most of the time, they are plucked by tramps before they have time to get ripe.. what a waste! Well, here is one which Samhith is keeping tabs on. It is the first thing he looks for when we come downstairs to wait for the bus. The day it disappears will be a sad one!

Picture 451

Jackfruits!!! We all love them, and can’t wait for this lot to ripen! Some of them will be plucked for cooking raw, and a few of them will survive till they ripen, and then, mmmmm… we’ll get to eat them!!


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These are a couple more flowers we have… the first is what we call ‘kanakambaram’ in Tamil…. it is one of my favourite flowers. I love to wear them in my hair. What a pity I have taught Samhith never to pluck flowers, and now I can’t even pluck these for myself!!!! The name of the second one eludes me for the moment..Shall update this blog when I remember it!



Picture 453Where there are flowers, can butterflies be far away? Here is a butterfly I managed to photograph as it paused on the floor for a rest…. not very colourful, but all the same, beautiful!







Well, this was just a preview of the many things I have been ‘snapping up’. Keep looking for more!!!!

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  1. AnonymousMarch 13, 2009 at 8:51 PM

    ooh lovely post!! what pretty flowers!! Lucky you!! I miss seeing jackfruit trees.. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete

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