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...
It is a city which is so deeply rooted in legends that it is impossible to separate the city from its stories – and the temples related to the stories. The minute we step into the city, we are besieged by it. We haven’t even found a hotel to stay in, but our auto driver wants to know if we want him to take us to the temples. “We have been here before” we tell him, and he answers, “But still, you will want to visit the temples. Why else would you come here again?” Our status as tourists and temple visitors seems to be obvious to him, so eventually we relent, telling him that yes, we do want to visit the temples, but we want to freshen up first. We take the mobile number proffered and heave a sigh of relief when he leaves. We are at Nashik, one of the holiest cities in Maharashtra, and also among the oldest.