Konark and Puri

"Here the language of stone surpasses the language of human." - Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore on Konark Sun Temple.  

Konark Sun Temple

Konark Sun Temple - Temple farther/ South side

The Summer is over, or so it seems. Under the benign gaze of the rain bearing clouds, a jam-packed Private buss with very little room to stand took me from Bhubaneshwar's Kaplana Square to Konark Sun Temple, a place that I've wanted to visit for a long time. Public transport is an issue. There are tourist packages by OSTDC,but I decided to go alone, taking my own time to enjoy the monument.  Past the lust green rural terrain of Odisha, via the towns of Nimpada and Gop, finally, I got down at the Bus station of the NAC (Notified Area Committee) of Konark. 

The only complete stone wheel

One of the Seven Horses

Clearly visible from a distance, Konark Sun Temple, the monumental 'Black Pagoda' built by one of the Greatest Kalinga Eastern Ganga Emperors, 'Langula' Narasingha Deva I stands at the centre of this town. An area of 500 meters around this majestic temple, although teeming with little shops and hawkers, is declared as 'Plastic Free Zone'. At the entrance, there is a raised Mandapa called 'Nata Mandir' guarded by two stone-Lions on either side, with beautiful carvings of Odissi and ornamented pillars - a magnificent sight! Beyond this lays the temple - now almost caving in, supported by a large wooden superstructure. Designed as an ornamented chariot of the Sun-God, Lord Surya, and symbolically drawn by stone carved statues of Seven Horses (only 3 can be noticed as of today, the rest are completely destroyed), this temple once had 24 Stone wheels exquisitely carved with 24 spokes each representing 24 hours of a day. Sadly, only one stone wheel is completely undamaged. Towards the right, there are ruins including that of a kitchen. 

Kalinga Lion Motif in Stone near Nata Mandir

Brutal representation of a War Elephant

Interestingly, the original Vimana-Deul of the temple which measured upto a height of 70 metres no longer exists as it was completely destroyed in 1837. In the South west and South east, there are two separate shrines dedicated to Mayadevi (an unkown deity some would associate as Chaya Devi, wife of Lord Surya) and to Vaishanava tradition respectively. A walk around this monument, is spellbinding and brings one close to an era of Kalinga Grandeur - when War Elephants clashed and Maritime trade prospered. Just outside the monument across the road, there is an archeological museum dedicated exclusively to this Sun Temple. It is a must visit - not the case unlike many museums where photography has a separate charge/or is prohibited. It has some wonderful artifacts! A short documentary is shown inside a theatre - I only wished they'd explain more interesting scientific facts about the temple rather than just myths. It was around 8.30 in the morning when I reached here, and it's almost 11.30 by the time I'm done.  

Makara (Crocodile) Motif, Mayadevi temple

Nata Mandir

The trip from Konark to Puri is very enjoyable. The road runs via the famous Chandrabhaga beach, almost parallel to the Bay of Bengal, criss-crossing the Balukhand-Konark Wild Life Sanctuary. Once again it's a jam packed private buss, but I managed to get a seat. A single main road like a straight line, large and segregated connects the Shree Kshetra (Jagannadh Temple) with the bus-stop. Initially skeptical about how some Pandas mistreat gullible piligrims - all fears found to be false in my case, I had a wonderful experience in the temple. It's a pleasant afternoon, but there is no crowd, as the Rath Yatra is yet to start. There is an element of disorganization, but the architecture, the ambiance, the feel...it's all amazing & perhaps marks one of the finest temples that I've visited. I took the Bhog offering too, and the Bhog (Prasadam) is prepared in the kitchen (said to be one of the largest in the world) within the temple premises supervised by the Annadan Bhog Committee. 

Puri Shree Kshetra

Chariots getting ready for Rath Yatra

As I've returned to Bhubaneshwar, I've only wished I had 1000 eyes (Sahasraksha) like Devendra to properly and prudently appreciate the enormous & elegant Sun Temple of Konark (Kainapara) and the Shree Kshetra!

#Mytravels, Konark & Puri, 

30eth of June, 2019.

The charm of a temple city

To a rank outsider like me, it does appear that the capital of Odisha is overshadowed by it's more popular surrounding places - Puri and Konark. However, appearances are horribly and consistently deceptive. Dubbed as the 'Ekamra Kshetra', owing to the presence of numerous mango-groves at one point of time, this temple city and especially the Old Town area has a lot to offer for the keen eye and the praying hand. And so, I've had the greatest fortune of witnessing the brilliant architectural style of the Kalingas!

Raja Rani Temple,  c.11th Century CE

Lingaraja Temple entrance (top) & vimana (bottom)

It was almost 5 o Clock in the evening when I've decided to go into the old town area after visiting the wonderful State Museum at Kalpana Square. I've returned from Konark and Puri, and got down at this Square very near to the railway station, one of the famous localities of Bhubaneshwar on the bypass connecting Cuttack with Puri and Konark. The public transport facilities are woefully inadequate, I did find few city busses route-numbered 603, but had to rely on Autos (within the city, shared) and jam-packed privately run buses (to Puri and Konark).

walk amidst the buildings and traffic, take a turn and suddenly you find yourself in an ancient era!

Ananta Basubed Temple

 
The Lingaraja temple and the adjacent Bindusagar Tank form the core of the old town area. This temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva predominantly, but symbolizing Hari-Hara friendship is simply a masterpiece of Kalinga architecture. It's Vimana - Deul is gigantic! There are conflicting views as to when the temple was built - one version attributes it to the Somavamshi King Jajati Kesari of 11th Century CE and the other dates it much earlier c.7th/8th Centuries BCE. In all probability, Jajati Kesari could have developed the already existing temple. With a continous drizzle from the skies, I walked along the large open Pradakshinapatha adorned with many sub-shrines. Interestingly, there is a seperate shrine for Nandi towards the left side of the Garba-Griha, unlike in Dravida temples wherein Nandi  (Vahana of Lord Shiva) is placed opposite the Shiva Linga. At a stone's throw from this temple, there are many ruined temples dating to probably the same period but much smaller in size (Sampurnarajeswara temple, Subarnarajeswara temple,  Maitreswara temple, Lankeswara temple, Babani Shankar temple etc). At some distance is a large temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu, called Ananta Basubed temple. An interesting feature of most of these temples is that people invariably enter the sanctum-sanctorum (vimana-garbha griha) from the sides rather than straightly through the main entrance.

From RajaRani temple - Winding serpent pillar (top right) is a special feature of Kalinga architechture

Depiction of Saptamatrika Chamunda/Rakta Kali is also unique to Kalinga architechture. (left - From Brahmeswara temple (right - From State Museum)

And then, after scouting and savoring dishes at some street food stalls,  I stopped my visit for the day, as the drizzle is now a downpour. Early next morning, I visited the Raja Rani Temple. Maintained by the ASI and with no deity, this is perhaps the second most important temple of Bhubaneshwar. The carvings on the Vimana of this temple are some of the best that I've seen. Brahmeswar and Rameshwar, two famous shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva are also nearby. Sculptures and carvings of some of these temples are relocated and can be seen at the State Museum. Then, I've visited the Khandagiri-Udayagiri caves located on the outskirts of the city. As I've said, transport is still a problem, but connecting share-autos took me first to Baramunda (Bharunda - another famous bypass junction of the city) and then to the caves. Carved by the Jain Emperor Kharavela in first/second centuries BCE, one of these caves contain the famous Hathigumpha Inscription in Brahmi-Prakrit along with other lesser known caves like Rani-Gupha, Ganesha-Gupha etc. With a Digambar Jain temple atop the Khandagiri hills, away from the hum and din of the highway, this location is pristine and exquisite.

An Emperor repents...from State Museum

Brahmeswara temple dedicated to Lord Shiva

The delicate symmetry between the traffic of Baramunda & Kalpana Square and the tranquility of Khandagiri-Udayagiri caves, the rustic, idyllic and historical soul of an old town caught in the body of a smart city, the numerous temples which transport us into Ancient Kalinga Era and of course the Samosas, Dahi-Vadas, Chhena-Poda (Roasted/Burnt Cheese), Rasagullas that I gulped down convinced me that perhaps sooner than later, Bhubaneshwar - Ekamra Kshetra could be a new World Heritage Site in India! This is the charm of a temple city!

Couple, Brahmeswaa temple

Top - Hathigumpha cave of Udayagiri, Bottom - Prakrit-Brahmi Inscription of Kharavela

#Mytravels, Ekamra Kshetra - Bhubaneshwar,
30eth of June & 1st of July, 2019.
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