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...
There is something fascinating about termite hills or termite mounds, (ant hills as we usually call them). You don't agree? Well, most of my family doesn't either, except Samhith of course! He has the same fascination for these huge settlements built with nothing but mud, and stops every time he sees one! Tirupati abounds in these termite hills - the Lord himself is said to have appeared in one, so undoubtedly there is something special about them! Well, we have seen many ant hills, some small, some even bigger than me.... See this one we photographed in the Zoo... Its about 5 feet high! We have often wondered what it would be like, inside this hill. It is believed that snakes live there too.... whether before or after the termites, I am not sure..... However, this time, the zoo not just gave us the opportunity to see some caged wild animals, but also some un-caged ones, among which were some termites - the hill had broken, probably thanks to some careless tourists - ...