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...
Last week I visited a place in the heart of the concrete city of Mumbai which deals with the grave matter of death, but is a peaceful oasis in this city of life. This is the Dashnami Goswami Akhada, or the Banganga Goswami cemetery, as it is more popularly known. This is no ordinary cemetery where all and sundry are cremated (as is the case with all Hindu deaths), but this is a special area reserved for those who have taken the vows of Sanyas (renunciation) – Sanyasis as we know them. Of course, the more popular Sanyasis are those who are the pontiffs of the various mutts in India, but there are others who have lived the life of normal householders, but have taken the path of renunciation later in life. One such person was my husband’s great-grandfather. Known in this life as Ramanathapuram Sheshadri Iyer , born in 1881, he renounced the world, taking on the name of Swami Satchitananda , and attained nirvana in 1964. Traditionally, Sanyasis are not cremated, but are buried, sea...