Temple City, Serendipity

Having visited the Kedar-Gauri temple, I decided to take a walk in a nearby green park that seemed devoid of the pilgrims that otherwise thronged the Kedar-Gauri. It was precisely these numbers I wanted to avoid, for which I had skipped the Lingaraja and the Mukteswara temples. In the large temple complex of the latter, I found the Kedar-Gauri, paid my offering and walked around. It was then that I found around the park, yet another rock cut temple, small, but as beautiful and ornate as any other. It was, however, on reading an ASI placard at the entrance, that I was literally left breathtaken! 

The small but ornate sandstone edifice was the Parashurameshwar Temple, the oldest temple in Bhubaneshwar, dating all the way back to the 7th Century A.D. Yes, I had read of the splendour of Konark, Jagannath and Lingaraja, and these were old enough, dating back to the tenth and twelfth centuries. But here was another one, which predated the big three by four centuries, if not more. For the pedantic and well-read me, it was a new-found fact that I savoured with much enthusiasm. Standing there, all excited with my learning for the day, I also realised why Bhubaneshwar is called the ‘Temple City of India.’ Strewn with temples, mostly dedicated to Lord Shiva, Bhubaneshwar was a hub of Shaivism around the 10th century, explaining this veneration to the ascetic Lord. Another reason why the city is adorned with so many temples, is because of its geographic location towards the eastern coast. This ensured it escaped the many waves of Afghan destruction that raged through north India after Muslim rulers began their regin from around the 12th century. Today, the city is a gem of heritage, architecture, and history, while balancing its growth in the 21st century - a little known fact is it being yet another of India’s planned cities, joining the likes of Chandigarh and Jamshedpur, designed way back in 1946 by German architect, Otto Konigsberger.

Depiction of Durga on the temple walls

The Parashurameshwar temple is dedicated to Shiva - though the moniker is reminiscent of the Chiranjivi Parashuram - Vishnu’s sixth avatar, the temple honors the ‘Lord of Parashuram’, Shiva himself. The puranas narrate that Parashuram penanced for years, worshipping Shiva, who in turn, blessed him with divine powers and gifted him the parashu (sanskrit for axe), thus making him Parashu-rama, or Rama with the axe. The temple was built by the Sahilodbhava dynasty, and is perhaps the best kept extant sample from that era. Historians are still doubtful of its exact time of construction, though an interesting observation apparently confirms it to be older than other temples from the 11th /12th centuries. The Parashurameshwar temple depicts eight planets on its door to the inner sanctum, while later day temples depict nine! Then, there’s the architecture - like most Kalingan architecture-styled temples, it has a spire with the sanctum beneath (vimana) and a squarish hall in front of the vimana, called the jagamohan (hall of worshippers). Unlike newer temples though, it misses additional structures such as the  bhoga-mandapa (hall of offerings) and the nata-madapa or dancing hall (remember the huge rectangular block in front of the Konark temple?) Holmes-ian deductions as these take the date of the temple to as far back as the fifth century even. 

Depiction of what looked like a Buddha, going by the curly Gandhara styled hair and the long earlobes - if so, it would show perhaps the remnant influence of Buddhism in what was the dominant religion here a few centuries earlier  

The temple walls are filled with intricate carvings, still well preserved, which makes a walk around the structure a lesson in religion, history, mythology and culture from over 15 centuries ago. There are stories of the ascetic lord, as Nataraja in tandava, as the esoteric Ardha-narishwar in conjugation with Parvati, as the all-demolishing Veerbhadra (a destructive indignant form of Shiva created to destroy the yagna of Daksha, after hs daughter, Sati immolates herself), and as Shiva subduing Ravana who tries to uproot Mount Kailash (Shiva presses the mountain on the demon lord’s fingers, making him wail, and thus giving him his name, Ravana, meaning scream or cry). Then, there are depictions of Ganesh, Kartikeya on his peacock, an indignant Durga as Mahishamardini, and of the esoteric Sapta-matrikas (the seven mother goddesses) - forms of Shakti, depicted as the feminine form of the most powerful gods (Brahmani from Brahma, Vaishnavi from Vishnu, Maheshvari from Shiva, Indrani from Indra, Kaumari from Kartikeya,  Varahi from Varaha and Chamunda or Kali). Then there were nagas, vanars, betaals and dwarpals, reinforcing the astral deities with trans-human sentient beings - reinforcing the enigma, potency and transcendence of temples in an era when entire communities revolved around these power centres. Some of the sculpture, though brilliant, looked quite different from other sculptures, often reminding me of Incan art rather than Indo-Kalingan art! 

Brilliant sculptures, though the faces and earrings reminded me of an Incan style of art

Inside, like most Kalingan temples, the walls were empty, reflecting perhaps dualistic principles of enriched architecture vs. nihilistic simplicity, or even reinforcing that inside the temple, there was just need to focus on the inner-sanctum, here bedecked with an ancient shiva-linga stone. The cold stone chilled your feet, making you feel more aware of every step, while a sombre atmosphere enlightened by small flames inside the sanctum alone, gave you a feel of redemption after the brief pilgrimage in the darkness. With the Kedar-Gauri attracting most pilgrims, I was delighted to walk around meditatively inside the nearly empty temple, and sit down quietly in the sanctum. Soft lighting, cool air hitting your ears and the slightly screeching sound of silence - if you had to have a conversation with God, it would rather be this than to be shoved automatically in a pilgrims’ progress by the roaring sea of devotees!  

Sapta-matrikas by a Ganesha

I found that short visit to the oldest temple in temple-dominant Bhubaneswar a sheer delight - whether it was the unexpected joy of discovering a quiet gem after being marauded by the infamous Oriya pandas elsewhere, or just the sense of historical awe to stand in front of a 1500 year old edifice, the temple captivated me. 

As a photographer or a worshipper or a traveller, it mattered not. What did matter though, was the fact that you could read as much as you liked, yet as you turned a corner on the street, you could chance upon serendipitous discovery, to learn something new everyday. 

Such is the richness of Temple City, such is the heritage of the lands of the Sapt-Sindhu. 

8th August, 2020