Lingaraja
Temple at Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneshwar, the capital of Orissa is a city of
temples, most of which are important from architectural
point of view. The Lingaraj temple is the largest of these is an outstanding specimen of
the Orissa style of temple building. It is about a
thousand years old. Bhubaneshwar, Konarak and Hardwar
constitute the Golden triangle of Orissa which is visited
by large number of pilgrims and tourists.
Bhubaneshwar is also a revered pilgrimage
center, referred to in the Bhrama Purana. The
Bhrama Purana refers to Bhubaneshwar as the Ekamra
Kshetra enshrining a crore Shiva Lingas.
It is known Lingaraja
temple was made up at first by the
ruler Yayati Kesari in the 7th century. Later he shifted
his capital from Jaipur to Bhubaneshwar.
Bhubaneshwar remained as the Kesari capital, till
Nripati Kesari founded Cuttck in the 10th century.
Inscriptions from the period of the Kalinga King
Anangabhima III from the 13th century are seen
here.
Structurally, the
Parasurameswara temple at Bhubaneshwar is the
oldest, dating back to the middle of the 8th
century, and the Lingaraja is temple is assigned
to the 10th century. The nata mandir and the
bhog mandir of the Lingaraja temple are of later
origin.
Legend has it
that Shiva revealed to Parvati that Bhubaneshwar -
or Ekamra thirtha was a resort favoured by him
over Benares. Parvati in the guise of a cowherd
woman, decided to look at the city herself. Two
demons Kritti and Vasa desired to marry her. She
requested them to carry her upon their shoulders,
and crushed them under her weight. Shiva, then
created the Bindu Saras lake to quench her thirt,
and took abode here as Krittivasas or Lingaraja.
The Temple: The
vast Bindu Sagar lake is the center around which
are located the multitude of temples of
Bhubaneshwar. The Lingaraja temple is
located in a spacious courtyard covering
over 250000 sq feet and is bounded by fortified
walls. Its tower rises up to 180 feet and is
elaborately carved.
The Shivalingam
in the sanctum of the Lingaraja temple rises to a
height of 8 inches above the floor level, and is 8
feet in diameter. The Bhagawati temple is located
in the northwest corner of the courtyard. There
are several other shrines and temples in this vast
courtyard.
Worship: A total
of 22 worship services are offered each day. Once
a year, an image of Lingaraja is taken to the
Jalamandir in the center of the Bindu Sagar lake.
Other temples in
Bhubaneshwar are the Ananta Vasudeva, RajaRani,
Mukteswara, Kedareswara, Siddheswara,
Parasurameswara.
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