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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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I am back at last!

I am back, after a long hiatus...... and thanks to the gap, don't know what to write... Theres actually lots to write about..... Apart from my trip to Hampi, Badami, Aihiole and Pattadakkal, which most of you know about, I also made a trip to Ajanta and Ellora, and later even one to Elephanta. So now I have so many cave temples I want to describe, and I dont know where to start!! Apart from that, there have been lots more interesting things happening.. such as a book launch, the Kala Ghoda Festival, which is now over... and lots more.....



Before I get back with my posts, here is a bit of good news for all of you. Thanks to all those of you who voted for me in the Best of Indian Blogosphere 2010 Polls, this blog is one of the winners in the Personal Category. Once again, my sincere thanks to all of you. You can see the badge on the top right hand corner of the blog. You can see the complete list of selected blogs here. 

Meanwhile, since I am still wondering how to make up for all the time I missed, here are a few pics for you.....






These are 'Book art' from the Kala Ghoda Festival, which was held at the beginning of Feb. These are made from old, torn books. They look fascinating, don't they? Samhith loved them, and wondered if he could make these too, and wanted to use his books for the purpose, but I have deflected the intention for now. Do any of you know how to go about making such masterpieces? Would love to hear from you... and maybe Samhith can learn and try it out on some of his old books too!

Now that I have started again, I hope to keep writing at least one post a day, so wish me luck! Meanwhile, there are some interesting things coming up, so please do keep coming back!!


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  1. Sankara Subramanian CFebruary 26, 2011 at 1:30 AM

    Welcome back and Congratulations for your blogjunta award.

    The book art is very interesting.Some of them are really creative.

    ReplyDelete

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