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Essay name: Temples of Purushottama Kshetra Puri

Author: Ratnakar Mohapatra
Affiliation: Sambalpur University / Department of History

This essay studies the Temples of Purushottama Kshetra (Puri) which is renowned for its historic and religious significance, situated in Orissa (Odisha) by the Bay of Bengal. Purusottama-ksetra is famous for the Lord Jagannatha temple and numerous smaller temples, it showcases the distinctive Kalinga architectural style.

Chapter 5 - Shaiva Temples of Purushottama Kshetra

Page:

34 (of 66)


External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)


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Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)


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Vimāna The vimāna of the Kapāḷa Mocana temple is a panca ratha rekhā deuḷa and its height is about 61 feet from the ground of the temple. 85 It is also about 30 feet of high from the surface of the temple complex. 86 The bāḍa of the vimāna is mostly buried under the earth. The base of the bāḍa is square of 15 feet. The bāḍa of vimāna has three divisions such as pābhāga, jāngha and baraṇḍa. The pābhāga of the baḍa is completely burried under the earth. The niches in the kanika pagas of the jangha contain figures of the aṣṭa-dikpāḷas while the anuratha pagas are decorated with vajra mundis. The intervening recesses between the pagas of jangha are filled with alasa kanyās or nāyikā figures. The baranda of the bāḍa consists of one single vertical moulding. The central niches of the three sides of the bāḍa are housed with pārsvadevatā images of Ganeśa, Kārtikeya and Umā- Maheśvara. The curvilinear spire is surmounted on the bāḍa of the vimāna. The gaṇḍi displays five pagas, which are devoid of decorative ornamentations. The centre of the frontal rāhā paga of the gandi is projected with gajakrānta motif. The entire gandi of the vimāna is thickly plastered with lime mortar. Dopichha lions have been fixed on the top of the kanika pagas of gaṇḍi. The figures of Garuḍa are inserted in the four cardinal directions of the beki above rāhās. They are supporting to the amalaka sila of mastaka. The mastaka of the vimāna consists of beki, amaḷaka śiḷ�, khapurī, kaḷasa, ayudha (trident) and dhvaja. The sanctum preserves the Sivalingam within Saktipitha as the presiding deity of the temple. The Lingam of Lord Siva is installed 8 feet below from the surface of the temple complex. Recently, the inner walls of the sanctum are covered by glazed tiles. A composite image of Brahmā- Viṣṇu and Maheśvara has been fixed in the back wall of the sanctum. The image of Maheśvara holds paruśu and māyāmṛga in left two hands and the right side two hands display varada and abhaya mudrā respectively. Images of Brahma and Viṣṇu have usual attributes in their hands. Jagamohana or Mukhaśāḷ� The jagamohana of the Kapāḷa Mocana temple is a piḍhã deuḷa and its height is about 20 feet from the surface of the temple complex. It is a rectangular hall and measures approximately 22 feet in length and 12 feet in width. The entire 206

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