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Odisha Part 10: Bhubaneshwar – the city of temples

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...
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A Boat Ride on the Kaveri at Ranganathittu

We first visited the Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary in May2014 , when Samhith and I spent a week at Mysore. We visited the sanctuary again this year, at the special request of Samhith, for his birthday! It is amazing how the sanctuary, and the river, never cease to surprise us, with the profusion and variety of avian life. This has been my only birding trip this year, so here are some photos from the boat ride on the Kaveri at Ranganathittu… Grey Heron
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A Journey along the Cauvery

Taking a break from my regular posts, I am sharing today an article that was published in Rail Bandhu a while back, titled - A Hymn called the Cauvery We stand atop the mountain , and peer into a tank. Around us are the lush green mountains of the Western Ghats, and, it seems apt that a river as holy as the Cauvery should originate here, in the Brahmagiri Ranges of Coorg, Karnataka. She bubbles forth as a spring, in this tank, during the monsoon months, and then flows down as a river from the foothills, giving the place its name -‘Talacauvery’.  It is at these foothills, at Bhagamandala, that we first see her as a river, and this is also where she meets the first of her many sisters. Here, she merges with the mountain stream Kannike, and the invisible (and maybe mythical) Sujyothi, to form the Cauvery, as we know her. A temple at Bhagamandala enshrines both, Vishnu and Shiva, and the Cauvery, when she is in full flow, washes the steps of the temple, as if paying obeisan...
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Asian Open Bill or Asian Open Billed Stork

We first saw these birds at the Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary , but on my recent trip to Tamilnadu, we saw this one in a rice field, somewhere between Mayiladudurai (Mayavaram) and Tarangambadi (Tranquebar).... Would I be right in thinking that its the Cauvery which draws them? What do you think? P.S. Posts on the blog will be erratic for a while because of some major renovation work in our house which has restricted my access to the computer. I will, however, be posting regular updates as well as photographs on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram . Please follow me there to see what I am up to. Besides, I am off on another trip soon, so stay tuned for a lot more photos!!! 
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Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary - a Photo Blog

“Cranes” whispered Samhith, his voice filled with awe! “They are not cranes. They are Open Billed Storks ” replied our boatman-cum-guide. “When we go closer, you can see how their bills have a slight gap and seem to be open. That’s where they get their name from” he elaborated. Open Billed Stork (Asian Openbill)
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Ranganatha Swamy Temple, Srirangapatna

In a time long, long back , even before temples were built, certain sites were considered sacred. Among such sites are the islands on the Kaveri, which were marked out as abodes of Lord Vishnu. It is said, that when the Kaveri flowed down from Agasthya’s kamandalu , free and unbound, she asked a boon from Lord Vishnu, that she be considered more sacred than the Ganga. And Vishnu agreed. He replied, “The Ganga flows from my feet. You, Kaveri, are my garland! And it is thus she flows, around these islands demarcated for Him, like a garland, sanctifying the land, and those of us who visit, with her mere presence. The first among these islands is Srirangapatna, near Mysore.
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The Cauvery and her stories at Coorg

Long, long ago, it is said , a crow overturned a pitcher of water. No, I am not talking of the Aesop’s fable, but instead, the story of the Kaveri. 
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Diwali Tour Part 4 – Thiruvaiyaru

Thiruvaiyaru – literally (in Tamil) the holy land of five rivers is about 15 Kms from Thanjavur. The five rivers are the tributaries of the Kaveri and form a sort of network around this town, giving it its name. The main temple here is to the lord who shares the name with the town – Panchanadeeswarar in Sanskrit, or Ayyaarappan in Tamil. From Diwali 08 - Thanjvur Trip Thiruvaiyaru Temple Gopuram From Diwali 08 - Thanjvur Trip Detail of Ravana Lifting Kailas on his ten heads, on the Thiruvaiyaru Gopuram The story of how the temple came into being is an interesting one. A king’s chariot once got embedded in the ground. While digging around the wheels of the chariot to get it out, they chanced upon a lingam. A wise minister advised them to dig further, but carefully, and they were rewarded for their efforts with the idols of the goddess Dharmasamvardhini, Vinayaka, Muruga, and also a Nandi. To top it all, they also found a Siddhar (saint) deep in meditation underground. The...
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