Odishan temples:- The important Religious institutions of Odisha are:-
Sun Temple:-
This is a UNESCO World Heritage Sight. It was recorded this is a test in 1984. One of the most stunning monuments of religious significance, a true masterpiece of architecture proudly stand in the form of sun temple at Konark. It's a culmination of Kalinga architecture. The corner temple is dedicated do the sun god. Built in 13th century by king Narasimhadeva, the temple is designed in the shape of a colossal chariot with six horses and twenty four wheels, carrying the sun god, Surya, across heaven. The temple it build of black marbel and thus, is also called the blade pagoda.
The Konark temple is famous not only for the architecture and sculptures but also for the Konark dance festival. The dance festival also Draws the attention of many art lovers in India and across the globe. Classical dances like Bharatnatyam, Odyssey, Kuchipudi to name a few are some of the special attention of the Konark dance festival.
Jagannath temple:-
Jagannath temple in Puri belongs to the 11th century and enjoy the honour of being one of the four dhams of Hindu religion. The main deities are Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra. The temple was built by Raja Ananta Varman Chodanganga Dev in 12th century.
The two gods and a goddess of the temple are ornamental in accordance with the occasion and season. Best structural design of the temple can be found to be in pyramidal shape. Extending to a height of 214 feet it is one of the tallest temple structures in India. Architecture of the temple shows a huge similarity to Kalinga temple architecture.
Only Hindus of India origin are allowed to enter into the temple premise and held Pooja. Other belief about the temple is that in Kiriti Yuga the actual image of temple god had power of granting Moksha to anyone who witnessed it. Yamaraj didnt find it just, so he decided to keep the image to some distant corner of earth. However, as Dvapar Yuga arrived , the idol that is worshipped today in Jagannath Puri was constructed by Lord Vishnu with the help of wooden logs and despite the lacking hands it doesnt lead to a difference in Gods power.
The main attraction of temple is the annually held Rath yatra.The images of gods are carried in three huge and decorated Chariots in a procession. The history of Jagannath Rath Yatra is about thousand year old and all these years that has not changed is its religious fervour, colourful rituals and unique tradition. The Rath Yatra is world famous and attracts more than million pilgrims annually.
Vaitala Deula Temple:-
It is located in Bhubaneshwar. It is one of the oldest temples in Odisha. The most unique fitted of the temple is it's sanctuary tower. The semi -cylinderical shape of it's roof is a leading example of Khakhara order of temples bears an similarity to the Dravidian gopuram of the South Indian temples.
Another striking feature of the temple is tantric Association, the 8 armed goddess Chamunda. The presidng deity, goddess Chamunda sits on a corpse flacked by a jackal and an owl and decorated with the garland of skulls. She holds a snake, bow, shield, sword, trident, thunderbolt and an arrow and is piercing the nake of the demon. The niche is capped by a chaitya window containing seated figures of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. The tantric character of the temple is also marked by the stone post, to which sacrificial offerings were tethered.
Lingaraj Temple:-
This is the biggest and most celebrated temple of Lord Shiv in the entire Odisha. The temple complex is gigantic in size and covers a huge area. The man is structure in the temple is 180 feet tall and is incircled by a 7 feet thick wall. There are around 100 shrines on the open courtyard. The presiding deity of the temple is God Harihara, a combined form of Loed Vishnu and Shiva. This temple is one of the finest example of Kalinga architecture.
Architecturally, the temples of Odisha can be resolved into 3 broad styles as Rekha, Pidha and Khakhara. Most of the temples of the first two orders have two main components the sanctum, with a convex curvilinear spire and an entrance porch or assembly halls, characterised by a stepped pyramidal roof. The bigger temples may have two to three of these Porches- usually a dance hall and a hall of offering. A Khakhra style is distinguished by a barrel elongated roof, called Khakhra, the local name of a variety of pumpkin- guard.
The outside of the temples are profusely decorated with sculpture relief broadley classified as- hieratic deities, human beings, geometrical, birds and animals and the floral patterns etc.
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