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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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Bulbuls

Its been a while since I posted any bird photos on the blog...So here are some photos of Bulbuls....

I see Bulbuls every day....... These Red Whiskered Bulbuls come home to eat the food we put out for the birds....





The Red Vented bulbuls, for some reason, never come to eat the scraps of food. They are busy eating whatever food is available on the trees around our house...



And then, there are these... cousins of the birds which come to our house, these birds live far far away... in the cold climes of the Himalays, these birds are just as common... These are the Himalayan Bulbuls. I clicked these photos on my recent trip to Vaishnodevi.






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  1. MridulaJuly 5, 2012 at 2:07 PM

    I love the hairstyle of the Himalayan Bulbuls a lot. Lovely clicks.

    ReplyDelete
  2. ಅಶ್ವಿನಿ/ AshwiniJuly 5, 2012 at 2:19 PM

    Nice clicks.. I find them around my house too. They chirp almost throughout the mornings and the evenings.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AshJuly 5, 2012 at 2:43 PM

    lovely pics... the third one looks so cute :D

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousJuly 5, 2012 at 3:08 PM

    the himalayan bulbuls are so chic ! ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarJuly 6, 2012 at 9:51 AM

      Thats an interesting way of describing them, Shruti!!

      Delete
  5. P.N. SubramanianJuly 5, 2012 at 10:20 PM

    Extremely beautiful captures. I am yet to spot one around my home in Kerala.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarJuly 6, 2012 at 9:53 AM

      THanks PNS! I am so surprised to hear that! I see these birds here all the time and they are quite common wherever i have been...

      Delete
  6. krishnaJuly 6, 2012 at 7:39 AM

    nice!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. R Niranjan DasJuly 6, 2012 at 2:54 PM

    Wonderful photography. The bulbuls look beautiful.

    http://rajniranjandas.blogspot.in/2012/07/night-safari.html

    ReplyDelete

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