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Odisha Part 8: The Parasurameshwara Temple, Bhubaneshwar

The Parasurameshwara temple is one of the oldest temples in Bhubaneshwar, dating back to the early 8 th century CE. It is also one of the more intriguing temples, with a wide variety of very interesting sculptures. This temple has been attributed to the Shailodbhavas , who were Shaivites. The dynasty is named for their founder, Shailodbhava, who is said to have emerged from a rock, by the grace of Lord Shiva, in response to a prayer by a man from Kalinga, to create a man capable of ruling the earth. That this temple is dedicated to Shiva is clear, not only from the Shaiva dwarapalas who guard the entrance, but also from the numerous sculptures depicting Shiva in his many forms. However, what makes this temple very interesting is the presence of multiple images of the goddesses, especially the Saptamatrikas. The presence of different forms of the goddess, a panel depicting the marriage of Shiva and Parvati, as well as an image of Ardhanareeshwara suggest a strong Shakta influence o...
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Trysts with Swifts

My tryst with Swifts seemed to continue, even on our trip to Morachi Chincholi......

My regular readers will remember that the first time I saw swifts in large numbers was when I had been to Omkareshwar - We had then seen swifts nests in the rocks lining the river Narmada......

I got  a closer look at the house-swift's nest on my trip to Binsar, where we were lucky to see a mother swift in her nest with her swiftlets.....

And now, on our trip to Morachi Chincholi, we stopped by a river to dip our feet in the cool water, and what do I see, but a group of swifts flying hither and thither, and under a bridge, a cluster of their nests!! What a sight! I was happy to show off my knowledge, and we began clicking photos.... Of course, we couldn't get any closer thanks to the water, and this is the best I could do!




Hoping that my tryst with swifts continues in the future too... and not just with swifts, but with other birds too!!
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Comments

  1. UshaJuly 7, 2010 at 2:50 PM

    Hey! Saw some swifts here yesterday and I also quickly showed off my knowledge :D

    ReplyDelete
  2. P.N. SubramanianJuly 7, 2010 at 6:43 PM

    Life is like that. All good wishes.

    ReplyDelete
  3. MridulaJuly 7, 2010 at 8:42 PM

    It is still very beautiful. And I usually get to see the other Swift, the Maruti Swift!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousJuly 7, 2010 at 9:54 PM

    Oh.. that must have been beautiful..

    ReplyDelete
  5. IndraniJuly 8, 2010 at 11:15 AM

    Oh! To see them so close! How lucky!

    ReplyDelete
  6. RashmieJuly 8, 2010 at 1:17 PM

    it must have been exciting! Nice short post :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. rahul kumar singhJuly 8, 2010 at 2:57 PM

    To see them so close! How lucky

    ReplyDelete
  8. Indian BazaarsJuly 14, 2010 at 7:39 AM

    This is really interesting! Never seen this before.

    ReplyDelete

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