Bhubaneshwar is often called the city of temples . It is impossible to know exactly how many temples there are, but it has been estimated that there might be over 700 temples in the city. This number, while impressive, is just a fraction of the original number, which, sometime in the 13 th century, would have been about 7000. Wikipedia has a page dedicated to the Hindu temples of Bhubaneshwar , where 93 temples are listed. All these are ancient temples, built between the 7 th and 13 th centuries CE. Bhubaneshwar was once known as Ekamra Kshetra , the sacred mango grove. We know this name from an inscription at the Ananta Vasudeva temple, which mentions the name of the place, and the main temple (that we now know as the Lingaraja temple) in the mango grove. Ananta Vasudeva Temple, with a sculpture of Trivikrama in the niche It is extremely interesting to note that the Ananta Vasudeva temple is the only temple to Lord Vishnu in this city. Varaha, Ananta Vasudeva Temple Located v...
Akkalkot is a small town about 45 kms from Sholapur, known mainly as the place where the renowned saint Swami Samarth attained Samadhi. We took the overnight train to Sholapur and then hired a jeep to Akkalkot, though we later realized that there are a huge number of buses of the MSRTC plying between various places in Mumbai and Akkalkot regularly. In fact, we were quite surprised by the frequency of buses in that region, and thereafter, we used only ST buses for traveling to and from Sholapur. All the buses and jeeps drop you at the Bhakta Niwas, built by the Devasthan for the convenience of pilgrims. It has basic lodging facilities, with small and big rooms, but only common bathrooms for the whole floor. The premises and the toilets are surprisingly clean, considering that the charge for a whole family (up to 10 people) is around Rs.150.There is also another Bhakta Niwas, recently built, for people who like to be comfortable, even during a pilgrimage. Here, the rooms all have att...