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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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Danaid Eggfly


The more I see the more I learn, and the more I learn, the more I want to see..... 



On our Sunday visit to MNP, these butterflies were all over the place, and in fact, they seemed least bothered about us, and landed very near us, apparently in no hurry to leave....I felt they were just waiting to be photographed. Almost everyone there who had a camera took photos of these butterflies fluttering around.....
When I started writing my post about the Urban Leaves visit, I thought of mentioning the name of the butterfly, and did a bit of searching..... Much as I tried with all sorts of combinations, I wasn't able to get the exact name. An image search at last brought up some results, and the name there was not butterfly, but 'eggfly'!! I had never heard of this before, so did a search, and viola! there it was - the butterfly I was searching for - It was called the Danaid Eggfly.



Now that I had the name, it was easy to get more information, and it seems that this is quite a common one in India, but it has several interesting characteristics - for one, it is sexually diamorphic, which means that the male and female look completely different. Secondly, they are excellent mimics, which means they appear like butterflies of other species, and can be identified only by a close look. This is especially true of the females, which may look like those of other species, or in a few cases, they can look like the males themselves! Wow! What a means of camouflage!!!! Interesting, isn't it? Do you wonder now that I would love to learn more about these fascinating creatures, and see more of them? Incidentally, I still don't know why they are called 'eggflies' and not butterflies... Any ideas?

For more information, click on the links below..

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  1. AartiJanuary 5, 2013 at 11:39 AM

    Not sure why i dint see this post earlier.. LOVE LOVE LOVE it :))

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarJanuary 5, 2013 at 11:59 AM

      I dont know how u missed it, aarti! with ur love for butterflies!

      Delete

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