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...
Our first outing of the year was to Jalgaon where we attended a havan and a puja. An auspicious beginning to the new year, wouldn't you say? Considering that we perform so many rituals ourselves at home, I have always been fascinated by all the paraphernalia that we use for them. I used the opportunity at Jalgaon to click pics, not of the puja itself, which everyone else was doing, but of the preparations for the puja.......... Here is the puja site.. all ready and prepared.... That's the havan kund.. where the fire will be lit... Here are the essentials - water, haldi(turmeric), kumkum, chandan...etc. etc. etc... i love that kamadalu-like vessel with the spout.. Don't know its correct name.... look at the tiny different shaped wooden articles next to it. They are used for the havan for making the offerings... Fruits and flowers... and the spoons used for the havan... again, sorry, but the names elude me. The Kalash - the central item.... and fi...