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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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Memories of 2012 - Nashik and around

August brought us more opportunity for travel, and we were off to Nashik, by the ST bus this time.





Nashik itself has temples galore, and then we went on to visit more temples at Trimbakeshwar...



and then the Saptashrungi temple at Vani. Here, more memorable than the temple was the journey up the hill, amidst the pouring rain and extremely low visibility!!



But this trip was not all about temples. We also managed to visit the Gargoti Mineral Museum...where we spent blissful hours amidst rocks of all kinds!


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Location: Nashik, Maharashtra, India

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