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...
The Annapoorneshwari temple at Horanadu is a famous one, and is on the itinerary of most people who visit Mangalore or Sringeri. Horanadu is about 2 hours away from Sringeri, and is an extremely beautiful temple. The idol of Annapoorneshwari is life size, and covered with gold from head to toe. This is quite an ancient temple, and is regarded as the kula devathai, or the household deity of many people residing in Chickmanglur district. The entrance to the Horanadu Temple Just half an hour away from Horanadu is the temple of Kalasa . This is a temple on a hill, on the foothills of which flows the Bhadra River. This place seems to be a picnic spot, as it was filled with people even in may when there wasn’t that much water in the river. One has to climb a few steps to get to the temple. At the entrance of the temple are the statues of two elephants, regarded to be Ganesha and a she-elephant, his wife. It is believed that there was an Asura here, to kill whom, Ganesha descended on earth. ...