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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 - Sewri, Mumbai

April also saw us make a visit to Sewri to see the flamingoes....



It is amazing to see the variety of birds that come to this concrete jungle, year after year. The numbers have declined over the years, but at least we still get to see them. It remains to us, however, to decide if we want the birds to keep coming back, for our children to watch with as much enjoyment as we do.


On another note, a lone fisherman with his bag of crabs was even more interesting to Samhith than the flamingoes. After all, the birds were far away, and the crabs were really huge!

You can read the following posts to know more about the birds we saw at Sewri:


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Location: Sewri East, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

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