Indian Columbus

India is a holy land where there are so many temple towns. But, only a few of those towns would have temples in their original forms. And many of those few towns are located in Odisha. Yes, Odisha has hundreds of such ancient temples that have retained their originality. The stars in the sky could be counted, but not the temples of this region. The temples of Odisha are not merely religious sites; they are architectural marvels, magnificent monuments, and the center for interesting iconography. Hence, the region has the capability to attract all sorts of people, such as devotees, tourists, art lovers, heritage enthusiasts and historians. Odisha, rightly called the land of temples, has monuments dating from the 3rd century BCE to the 16th century CE. The Hindu Temple architecture can be broadly classified into three styles namely  Nagara, Vesara and Dravida . The style of temple architecture followed here is called as  Kalinga . It is a sub school developed under the Nagara sty...

I got an opportunity to talk in Tamil Heritage Club for about two hours on Temples of Bhubaneswar. I touched upon the history of Bhubaneswar and Kalinga architecture before talking in detail about various temples of Bhubaneswar. The audio recording and the 69 slider Powerpoint presentation are found in the below link: https://thtsiteseminars.wordpress.com/2016/09/30/preparatory-talk-2-the-temples-of-bhubaneswar-by-t-k-krishnakumar/

Site Name:  Dhabaleswar Temple   Site Type:   Hindu ancient temple  Location:    Dhauli, Near Bhubaneswar city, Odisha state, India Highlights:   One of the oldest temples of Dhauli Nearest Railway Station:  Bhubaneswar Nearest Airport:  Bhubaneswar How to reach:  Well connected by road, rail and air Hotel:  There are many options across the city Restaurants:  Varieties of options Dhauli  is located on the banks of the river Daya, at a distance of 8 kms from  Bhubaneswar  city in Odisha state of India. It is a hilly area with the adjoining vast open space. It is the site where the major battle between  Ashoka  and the King of Kalinga took place. Around 250,000 people lost their lives. This war lead Ashoka to adopt the peace loving Buddhism religion. Then, started the rise of Buddhism in India.  In Dhauli the Ashokan rock edicts are found. However, the most popular desti...

Site Name: Shanti Stupa Site Type:   Buddhist temple  Location:    Dhauli, Near Bhubaneswar city, Odisha state, India Highlights:   The most important landmark of Dhauli Nearest Railway Station:  Bhubaneswar Nearest Airport:  Bhubaneswar How to reach:  Well connected by road, rail and air Hotel:  There are many options across the city Restaurants:  Varieties of options Dhauli is located on the banks of the river Daya, at a distance of 8 kms from Bhubaneswar city in Odisha state of India. It is a hilly area with the adjoining vast open space. It is the site where the major battle between Ashoka and the King of Kalinga took place. Around 250,000 people lost their lives. This war lead Ashoka to adopt the peace loving Buddhism religion. Then, started the rise of Buddhism in India.  In Dhauli the Ashokan rock edicts are found. However, the most popular destination in Dhauli is Shanti Stupa. It is a Buddhist shrin...

Site Name:  Dhauli    Site Type:   Baattlefield, historical  Location:    Near Bhubaneswar city, Odisha state, India Highlights:   The site where one of the most popular battle of India was fought Nearest Railway Station:  Bhubaneswar Nearest Airport:  Bhubaneswar How to reach:  Well connected by road, rail and air Hotel:  There are many options across the city Restaurants:  Varieties of options It took 250,000 soldiers  to sacrifice their lives for the Emperor Ashoka to realize the importance of Ahimsa or non-violence. After the epic battle of Mahabharat, the most talked about battle fought in the lands of India was Kalinga war . Dhauli is the site where the battle of Kalinga took place in 261 BCE .  Dhauli is located on the banks of the river Daya, at a distance of 8 kms from Bhubaneswar city in Odisha state of India. It is a hilly area with the adjoining vast open space.  Asho...

Site Name:  Sisiresvara Temple   Site Type:   Hindu ancient temple  Location:    Bhubaneswar city, Odisha state, India Highlights:   One of the oldest temples of Bhubaneswar Nearest Railway Station:  Bhubaneswar Nearest Airport:  Bhubaneswar How to reach:  Well connected by road, rail and air Hotel:  There are many options across the city Restaurants:  Varieties of options Bhubaneswar is not only about the gigantic Lingaraja temple or the architectural marvels such as Raja Rani temple or Parasurameshwar temple. The city has a lot more to offer for any enthusiastic and art loving traveler or devotee. The city, which is the capital city of Odisha (formerly Orissa) state of India, is called as 'the City of Temples'. It once had around 3000 temples and even today hundreds of temples are located in every nook and corner of this heritage rich city. Let us explore a little known temple, Sisiresvara temple , in this ...

Site Name:  Baital Deula  Temple  Site Type:   Hindu ancient temple related to Tantric cult Location:    Bhubaneswar city, Odisha state, India Highlights:   An important temple related to Tantric cult Nearest Railway Station:  Bhubaneswar Nearest Airport:  Bhubaneswar How to reach:  Well connected by road, rail and air Hotel:  There are many options across the city Restaurants:  Varieties of options Bhubaneswar is not only about the gigantic Lingaraja temple or the architectural marvels such as Raja Rani temple or Parasurameshwar temple. The city has a lot more to offer for any enthusiastic and art loving traveler or devotee. The city, which is the capital city of Odisha (formerly Orissa) state of India, is called as 'the City of Temples'. It once had around 3000 temples and even today hundreds of temples are located in every nook and corner of this heritage rich city. Let us explore a very unique and an...