365bet

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:

5 (of 66)


External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)


Download the PDF file of the original publication


Copyright (license):

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


Warning! Page nr. 5 has not been proofread.

pārsvadevatā is covered by niśā shrine of piḍhā order and its height is about 15 feet from the ground of the temple. The outer walls of the nisä-shrine are also covered with marbles. The inner walls of the niśã shrine are adorned with a group of female deities some of, which can be identified with Pārvatī, Lakṣmī, Saraśvatī, Maheśvari and Kaumārī. Their mounts below the pedestal and attributes in hands can well be recognized.14 Kārtikeya is the pārsvadevata of the eastern side. There is a small slab, which contains the image of Kartikeya. Out of the four hands of the deity, three display kukuṭa (rooster cock), spear, dambaru and the attribute in the rest hand is not clearly shown. Peacock the conventional mount of deity is found to the right of the pedestal. In front of the Kartikeya image is found small niśā-shrine of piḍhā order and its height is about 7 feet from the surface of the temple complex. There is an image of Narasimha installed close to the nisa shrine of eastern side. His upper two hands display conch and cakra. The image of Narasimha is carved in the uttāna sayee pose. The four handed Ganeśa is the pārsvadevatā of the southern side. The image has been installed on the double petalled lotus pedestal. His right two hands display broken tusk and rosary while the left two hands hold paraśu and sweet balls. Mouse, the conventional mount of Ganesa is installed on a pillar of 2 feet high and it is noticed in front of the nisa shrine. A flat roof covers the mouse. The image of Ganesa is also housed in the nisa shrine of piḍhā order. The curvilinear superstructure is surmounted on the bāḍa of the vimāna. It also continues the pancaratha plan of the bāḍa. The entire gandi portion of the vimāna is covered with marbles. The middle portion of the rāhā paga of the gandi is projected with jhapā siṃha on each side. There is a niche above the jhapā simha of the southern side rāhā paga of the gandi and it is housed with a slab, which contains the images of Śiva and Pārvatī. Both lion and bull, the traditional mounts are also finely carved on either side pedestal of the deities. The eastern side rāhā paga of the gandi contains an image of the four handed Śiva (Lokanatha) which is standing on a bull and his upper two hands hold a snake while the lower two hands display abhaya and varada mudrā respectively. Other pagas of the gandi are devoid of decorative ornamentation due to the covering of marbles. The dopichha lions are finely fixed on the top of kanika pagas of the gaṇḍi. 177

Let's grow together!

I humbly request your help to keep doing what I do best: provide the world with unbiased sources, definitions and images. Your donation direclty influences the quality and quantity of knowledge, wisdom and spiritual insight the world is exposed to.

Let's make the world a better place together!

Like what you read? Help to become even better: