Almost two years back, I went to this place. Its name attracted me. Why such a peculiar name. Chudanga Gada. Chudanga Gada was earlier known as Saranga Gada. The site can also be approached from Bhubaneswar through the Bhubanesvar-Cuttack road via Nandankanan and Baranga. From Baranga one has to negotiate a distance of 1.5 km north of Sitaram chowk to reach the site that is situated on the right bank of the river Prachi. I reached the site at 10 o’clock. Legends
As per the Madalapanji, the fort was built by Lalatendu Kesari of Kesari dynasty (Somavamsis) when it was known as Sarangagarh, because the area had large number of water bodies filled with lotus and in Sanskrit, Saranga means lotus. Later on Baraha Kesari renovated the fort, which was captured by Ganga king Chodaganga Deva after defeating Karna Deva, the last ruler of the Somavamsi dynasty in 1110 AD. There after the fort of Sarangagada became known as Chudangagada after the name of the victor Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva. Archaeological Findings
The following pictures will give you a look on the boundary wall of the fort.
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Presence of Water Bodies
One of the important features of this fort is the presence of large number of water bodies such as
Chudanga jhil
Cheddagadia
Gangua
Nahuagenja
Bada pokhari
Sana pokhari
Khiragadia
Kiakani jhil
Kanjia jhil
Dubala chhatra
Routa gadia
Rani gadhua pokhari
Hati gadhua pokhari
Bhai bahu dedhasura pokhari
Padma pokhari.
Among all these, due to lack of time and communication, I was able to see only the two. Hati Gadhua Pokhari or the pond where Elephants used to take bath amd Rani Gadhua Pokhari or the pond where Queen used to take bath.
Hati Gadhua Pokhari
Rani Gadhua Pokhari
I examine this Rani gadhua Pokhari a little bit as our local guide tell me that as per the legends if a lady takes bath in this pond, she will get a gold or sometimes diamond. The reason for that, what I felt, is when Queen used to take bath in the pond some ornaments might be fall from her body. This later on, found by some local ladies.
Stones surrounded the Rani Gadhua Pokhari
These stones were known as Sandstones, but the color of these are black. These things were based on Tantrism, The Black Magic Stones as our local guide tell us.
The steps of Rani Gadhua Pokhari
The fort is made up of sandstone & laterite.
Architectural features
The fort has a rectangular plan that measures 1700 m x 1500 m, within which there are several ancient remains and ruins such as i- Solapuri Uasa ( a palace of sixteen rooms) ii-Chaula ghara ( granary) iii- water bodies iv-religious shrines Solapuri Uasa or the palace of sixteen rooms occupied an area of about 25 acres. On plan the remains extends over an area that measures 386 metres x 217 metres. It is said that, there were sixteen rooms inside the palace but the exploration could locate only nine blocks of various size. The largest one measured 141.00 m x 121.00 m with a height of 4.00 m and thickness of 2 .00 m. The smallest block measured 42.00 m x 34.00 m with a height 1.30 m and thickness of 1.80 m. Large sized dressed sand stone and laterite blocks have been used for the construction of the building. On the average these blocks measure 1.10 m x 1.30 m. Architectural remains like pillars fragments, lintels, and temple fragments like Chandrasilas, and stone blocks of hexagonal, octagonal, square shape are also found. In this area of the fort, there are the ruins of a temple that was made of sandstone. Towards the north-eastern corner of the fort and south of Chudanga jhil, large quantity of charred rice are found, which is locally known as Chaula ghara or The Granary. This patch of land is under the cultivation.
At 17 o’clock, I deceided to return and during that some snaps were taken by me and I guess these are beautiful. As I am not a photographer but still with our smartphones we all are now photographers now.
Khambeswari temple, Aska. PC: Debashish Dash https://twitter.com/TheDashDD Goddess Khambhesvari is originally an tribal Goddess worshipped by the tribes of hinterland Odisha. In course of time She was like many other tribal deities given a place in the Hindu pantheon and subsequently she was transformed from a nomadic cult to Shakti cult. Khambhesvari, the Goddess of the Post or Pillar is one of the famous formless autochthonous deities widely worshipped in the hill tracts of Bargarh, Sambalpur, Angul, Dhenkanal, Bolangir, Subarnapur, Boudh, Kalahandi and the Ganjam districts of Odisha. She is worshipped as a manifestation of Shakti in the form of wooden posts or pillars and also through stones. Legends: Khambeswari temple--Aska An interesting legend about the temple in Aska says that once Goddess Khambhesvari appeared in a dream before Khambamuni who lived in the forest and desired that she should be worshipped by the latter. As per the stipulation of Khambamun
Chamunda is a fearsome aspect of Shakti, also known as chamundi, chamundeswari and charchika. She is one of the Saptamatruka or seven divine Goddesses. She is also one of the chief Joginis, a group of sixty-four or eighty-one Tantric goddesses. According to legend, Chamunda appeared from the frown of the benign goddess Parvati to kill demons Chanda and Munda. Here, Chamunda is viewed as a form of Parvati. Matsaya Purana tells a different story of Chamunda’s origins. She with other matrikas was created by Shiva to help him kill the demon Andhakasura, who has an ability — like Raktabija — to generate from his dripping blood. Chamunda with the other matrikas drinks the blood of the demon ultimately helping Shiva kill him. Ratnakara, in his text Haravijaya, also describes this feature of Chamunda, but solely credits Chamunda, not the other matrikas of sipping the blood of Andhaka. Having drunk the blood, Chamunda’s complexion changed to blood-red. The text further says that Chamund
It feels really very exciting when you make reading and travelling your hobby. And believe me then only you will be able to co relate the things. One fine day, I was reading a pdf file of Odisha Govt. and I came to know about a place called Kuruma, an ancient Buddhist site. I decided to go to that place to explore more. This site is located 8.6 kms to the south-east of the famous Sun Temple at Konark in the district of Puri, Odisha. First, you have to go to famous Sun Temple Konarka. From there you just move on to Balidokan, which is just 7.3 km on Konarka-Kakatpur road. From Balidokan square, just turn left to go to Kuruma, which is 1.3 km from there. The Dharma Pokhari or the Pond of Dharma is located nearby the site. Prior to this excavation, a stone slab containing the beautiful figure of Buddha was lying on the bank of this tank. Later on, this image was replaced and enshrined in a newly built shed. Besides the Buddha image, other two images were
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