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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 7 - Miscellaneous Temples of Purushottama Kshetra

Page:

9 (of 36)


External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)


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Copyright (license):

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


Warning! Page nr. 9 has not been proofread.

The western side ceiling of the nāṭamaṇḍapa is also decorated with Kṛṣṇa with gopis, Sarasvati image, female figures with musical instruments like veeṇ�, mṛdanga and flutes, Rāsaliḷ� scene of Lord Kṛṣṇa etc. These relief panels have been executed in stucco works and painted by the local artists. The natamaṇḍapa has six doorways; three on each side of north and south of which the central one measures 11 feet 3 inches x 9 feet 7 inches and the side ones 8 feet 8 inches x 6 feet 7 inches. 15 All the doorways are completely undecorated. The centres of the doorway lintels of the southern side are carved with cakra devices. In the north, two doorways are provided for the devotees, out of which the garland makers occupy one and another is used for the movement of the devotees or visitors. Lord Jagannātha, Balabhadra and Subhadra come to the simhasana of garvagṛha through this doorway at the time of Car-festival. Bhogamandapa- The bhogamandapa of the Gunḍicā temple is a piḍhã deuḷa and its height is about 28 feet from the surface of the temple complex. The structure of the bhogamaṇḍapa is erected on a platform of 1 foot high. It is rectangular and measures approximately 58 feet 9 inches in length and 26 feet in width. The walls are 6 feet 10 inches in thick." The bāḍa of the structure consists of five elements such as pābhāga, taḷa jāngha, bandhanā, upper jāngha and, baraṇḍa. All the component parts of the bāḍa are mostly unadorned. The bandhanā of the bäda consists of three horizontal mouldings. The pyramidal superstructure rises from the terminal line of the bāḍa of the bhogamaṇḍapa. It consists of four flat-shaped piḍhãs. The recesses or the kānthis between the piḍhās are embellished with erotic scenes, amorous couples, dancing female figures, Ganeśa image, Gaja-Lakṣmī image, Varāha image, Narasimha image, Hanumāna (Mahāvira) and dancing figure of Lord Kṛṣṇa. These small figures are also made of lime mortar and do not attract to the visitors. Jhapā siṃha is imposingly projected on the middle portion of each side of the gandi. The mastaka of the bhogamaṇḍapa consists of kalasa, ayudha (cakra) and dhvaja. Two jhapā siṃhas are prominently projected on the both northern and southern sides of the kalasa respectively. 299

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