Somnath Temple of Jatni can be reached from Bhubaneswar through Old town, Kapileswar area through to Jatni and then straight left. Also, one can visit the temple turning right from Jatni Chowk towards Pipli from Jatni on the Bhubaneswar-Puri Highway.
Built in 13th century, the temple is an excellent example in Kalingan Architecture. The different sculptors made this temple. Legends have it that the temple can be dated back to the time of the making of Konarka Sun temple. It is of the same era. A common story has it that sculptors of the nearby areas of Athagarh, Bolagarh, Mundala, Niranjanpur, Harirajpur and Belapada were invited by King Langula Narasingha Dev to build the Sun Temple at Konark. Those days there were no roads, no means of transport except a handful of bullock carts and people had to travel on foot. The King had thus made some arrangements, resting points where breakfast, lunch and dinner would be served for the sculptors at intervals along the journey. These places were earmarked as breakfast points and ‘chuda’ was served as breakfast. Here they found the deity worshiped in the open by villagers as Kharakhia Somnath and later the place was earmarked by the King for a ‘chuda’ breakfast these people named the deity Chudakhia Somnath. Before starting the journey to Konarka next day they prayed to Lord Somnath and vowed that if everything went off well in the making of the Sun Temple they would build a temple on the spot on the way back. The King was happy with the work and wished to award the sculptors. Instead of taking the reward they requested the King to help them build the Somnath temple and the King eagerly agreed to help.
Statue of Lord Buddha in front of temple.
The temple is very rich in the presentation of Kalingan Architecture. Lots of images are there which can have similarities with the great Konarka.
Lord Ganesha as Parshvadevta
Lord Kartikeya as Parshvadevta
Goddess Parvati as Parshvadevi
Images on the wall
Images on the wall
Images on the wall
Window of the temple
Image on the wall
Image on the wall
Image on the wall
Image on the wall
Image on the wall
Image on the wall
Image on the wall
The lower portion of temple is now somehow modified but still it represent the past glory of Kalingan Era. Still wonder what kind of technology they had with them. In modern world with latest technology, we can’t make such kind of artistic carvings.
Lower portion of temple
Lower portion of temple
Lower portion of temple
Lower portion of temple
Lower portion of temple
Lower portion of temple
A beautiful mandap in the temple
A beautiful pond is there which is a very common in Kalingan Temples, with natural scenery.
Not to forget, erotic carvings, which also were very common in Kalingan temples , are still present in very large numbers. Although they are in dilapidated conditions.
The temple and the carvings are made of Baulamala stones. There are small openings on each side of the temple floor known as wish chambers where people gather to offer sacrifices and pray for the fulfilment of their wishes. The temple and the carvings are made of Baulamala stones. The ‘Dadhinauti’ or the ‘Chula’ of the temple is made of one stone which people believe was transported to the top by filling sand unlike in the construction of Konark Temple. Over the years, sculpture smugglers have stolen many carvings and have destroyed many others. Some of the figures have also been destroyed by Kalapahada, the destroyer appointed by the Mughal rulers. Every day the deities are offered khechudi and dalma bhoga but the favourite offerings are chudaghasa and dalma. All the Shaiva festivals like Mahashivaratri, Ashokasthami, Champaka Dwadasi and Sitalsasthi are celebrated by people with considerable fanfare.
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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