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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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Mahabaleshwar

As trips go, the unplanned ones usually turn out to be the most fun, and our trip to Mahabaleshwar was no different. Looking back, it seems unbelievable that we went at all! The visit was a short one, but we managed to pack quite a bit into the time we had, but what was really memorable was the heavy rain which dominated our stay at the hill station. I have been to Mahabaleshwar before, but never in the monsoon, and the season certainly added an extra bit of gloss to the entire trip!



The Venna Lake is the highlight of Mahabaleshwar. I remember going boating on the lake on my first visit there, and it is usually packed with tourists... so packed that the last time I was there, we had to give boating a skip since the queue seemed to be never-ending! And here is my favourite photo of this trip - the Venna Lake in the monsoon! It was amazing how the clouds and the water seemed to merge....

That was just a glimpse of our trip. Read a more detailed account on my post on the Club Mahindra Blog....

Soaking in the spirit of Mahabaleshwar
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Location: Mahabaleshwar, Maharashtra, India

Comments

  1. krishnaAugust 22, 2012 at 11:12 PM

    It seems that you have enjoyed a lot. I had been in Mumbai for 4 years. Many times I thought of going there, but unfortunately that never happened.
    http://from-a-girls-mind.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarAugust 23, 2012 at 4:56 PM

      Yes, we did, Krishna! you should go sometime.. but dont worry.. i visited Mahabaleshwar for the first time after living in mumbai for 25 years!! since then i have been there thrice! and there are so so many places i havent been to yet.. can u believe i have still not been to matheran?

      Delete
  2. R Niranjan DasAugust 23, 2012 at 4:40 PM

    Thats a beautiful click. Never been here.

    http://rajniranjandas.blogspot.in

    ReplyDelete
  3. PanchganiAugust 25, 2012 at 11:15 AM

    Hi,
    Anuradha Shankar, We loved the way of your writing, we would like to make you our guest blogger. contact us at www.facebook.com/ravinehotel for further details.

    Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarAugust 25, 2012 at 5:17 PM

      Thanks a lot, but can you please send me a mail at anushankarn(at)gmail(dot)com ?

      Delete
    2. PanchganiAugust 31, 2012 at 6:24 PM

      Ok,
      Done!!!

      Delete

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