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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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Rufous Treepie

Here is another bird we have seen before, but never managed a decent shot - the Rufous Treepie.



It is quite a conspicuous bird, with its distinctive colour and tail. It was rather a surprise to learn that it belongs to the crow family!


We saw this bird at Chittorgarh.I was busy photographing the monuments, when a sudden movement caught my eye. I turned, and having the camera in my hand, started clicking away. This seemed to surprise our driver, because he called out to me, "Madam, aap kahan photo nikal rahe ho? Tower toh wahan pe hai!" (Madam, what are you photographing? the tower is there!) The sound was enough to scare the bird away, but thankfully I had enough shots to keep me happy!




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