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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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Diwali Tour Part 18 – Thiruvidaimarudhur and related Parivara Sthalams

Every Shiva temples has certain deities . While the central deities are Shiva and Parvati, all Shiva temples have other deities in the Pragaram like Ganesha, Muruga, Dakshinamoorthy, the Navagrahas, and Chandikeswarar. Each of these deities takes his/her place according to the direction/position he/she is assigned. Situated around Kumbakonam is a group of temples whose deities (not necessarily the central one) together form a temple much, much bigger than any temple in existence. The temples are as far apart as Swamimalai and Chidambaram. These temples are collectively called the Parivara Sthalams . The central temple in this group is Thiruvidaimarudhur. Thiruvidaimarudhur - Shiva From Diwali 08 - Thanjvur Trip Thiruvidaimarudhur is situated 8 Kms from Kumbakonam on the Mayiladudurai road, 1 km from Thirubhuvanam. This is a huge temple, with 3 pragarams. It is considered auspicious to circumambulate all the 3 pragarams. From Diwali 08 - Thanjvur Trip The main deity i...
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Diwali Tour Part 14 – Ashta Veeratta Sthalams

Strength has always been one of the most admired qualities , and one has only to read history or mythology to see how much importance has been given to strength and the display of strength. One can find many temples all over India, all testifying to a victory of a god over a demon, or some special exhibition of greatness. There is a set of eight temples in the south of India, situated near Mayiladudurai, Thiruvarur and Thiruvannamalai, all of which are associated with displays of the strength and greatness of Shiva. At all these temples, Shiva has either vanquished a demon, or punished another god. These are collectively called the ‘ Ashta Veeratta Sthalams’ . Each of these temples is fascinating, and has special points of interest. What I find especially interesting is that 6 of these 8 temples have bronze statues depicting the story of the temple. These are statues that are absolutely invaluable and must be seen to be believed. Let’s take a tour of six of these temples that are situa...
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Diwali Tour Part 13 – Sirkazhi

An ancient 3 storied temple , which has its roots in the great deluge and the creation of life, where the goddess herself appeared to feed a child who would grow up to be one of the greatest of the Shaivite saints, Sirkazhi has everything you would look for in a temple – legend, beauty and history, and more than anything, one is absolutely awed by this temple. From Diwali 08 - Thanjvur Trip The first thing you see when you enter this temple is the pond. This is the sacred pond on the bank of which a small child was left by his father when he went to bathe. The child was hungry and began to cry. Shiva recognized his future devotee and asked Parvati to pacify the child. Parvati appeared on the banks of the pond, and fed the child with her own milk of knowledge – gynaana paal – and the child was hereafter known as Thiru gynaana sambandar , who sang songs in praise of Shiva even as a child. Even today the image of the saint in this temple is fed sweetened milk, which is given to de...
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Diwali Tour Part 12 – Mayiladudurai

Mayiladudurai – where peacocks once danced – known more popularly as Maayavaram or Mayuram is one of the most sacred places along the Kaveri. This is where Parvati descended as a peahen and prayed to the lord. It is believed that a bath in the Kaveri during the sacred Tula month (mid-October to mid- November), early in the morning, followed by darshan of Mayuranathar, is certain to wash away every bit of sin, known or unknown. Over the ages, sages and kings, commoners and merchants, people from every caste have flocked to this holy town during this month and have cleansed themselves of their burdens. It is believed that lord Rama himself had a bath here, as have the other gods. These days, however, it makes more sense to make sure that the Mettur Dam has been opened and that there is sufficient water in the Kaveri before venturing here for a sacred bath, for during the months that the river is dry, it is indeed a sorry sight. In fact, we visited Mayiladudurai just after a bout of heav...
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Diwali Tour Part 11 – Thirumanancheri and surrounding temples related to the marriage of Shiva and Parvati.

The stories of Shiva and Parvati’s marriage have all the ingredients of a first class romance – from the story of the beautiful Sati’s marriage to the lord of the world living in a cemetery, to their subsequent dramatic parting; her re-birth as Parvati, and her strong resolve to marry the man who wouldn’t even look at her; her standing up to him and proving her worth, and finally getting her wish; their subsequent tiffs leading to her advent on earth (her mother’s home) every now and then, and Shiva finally making up to her by arriving to get married again – every story is interesting and has been told and retold in various ways ever since. Many places linked to Shiva and Parvati’s marriage have temples dedicated to the divine wedding, Madurai and Thirumanancheri being the most popular among them. While it was Meenakshi, the daughter of the Pandya king that Shiva as Sundareswarar (the handsome one) married at Madurai, in Thirumanancheri, Parvati was born as a daughter of a rishi. Acc...
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