Exploring Odisha: The Captivating Black Pagoda

           Recently I had a trip to the Konark Sun temple of Puri district in Odisha located at about 65 KM from the capital, Bhubaneshwar.



Chandrabhaga Beach:

Chandrabhaga Beach is situated three km east of the Sun temple of Konark, in the Puri district in the state of Odisha. It is 30 km from the city of Puri. Formerly Chandrabhaga was considered a place of natural cure for lepers.

The road condition was too good and it did not take us much time to reach the Chandrabhaga Beach to have a view of sun-rise. Unfortunately it was cloudy and we missed it. Yet we had a wonderful start at the soothing waves of the beach.

[My Odisha]

After spending almost 1 Hr at the beach, we headed towards the "Ramachandi Temple" through the Marine drive. The feeling of driving on a wide road which seems to have opened its arms wide for you, with the beach on one side and a sanctuary on the other, was awesome.

Ramachandi Temple:

It is situated 7 km before Konark on the Marine drive road from Puri to Konark. Ramachandi is popularly believed the presiding deity of Konark, and the most benevolent Chandi known. It is certainly more ancient than the Sun Temple at Konark. From the architectural point of view, the temple of Ramachandi is not important but from the religious point of view, it is one of the famous Sakta pithas of Orissa.

A legend regarding the deity is popular among the locals. Kalapahad, the rebel Hindu Brahmin youth who got converted to Islam, vowed to destroy all the temples of Hindu worship during 17th century. After destroying the Sun temple, Kalapahad approached Ramachandi temple to destroy it. Then Goddess Ramachandi dressed as a Maluni (a maid servant) asked Kalapahad to wait at the door till she brings water from the river for the Goddess. Kalapahad anxiously waited for a long time to get some cold water. When it was too late and the Maluni did not return he was exhausted and entered inside the temple and found the throne empty. Then he thought the Maluni took away the deity with her and with anger he followed the Maluni. When he reached the bank of the Kushabhadra river he found the goddess Ramachandi floating in the middle of the river. At that time the river was outpouring, so he came back without being able to reach the middle of the river. Then Goddess Ramachandi came in dream of a Panda (priest) and told him to build a temple on the bank of the Kushabhadra river. This place is now known as Ramachandi.

[The Kusabhadra River kisses the sea here at RamaChandi]

Before we reach the Sun temple, we stopped for a while to have the traditional coconut water and Odia Thali re-mixed with North Indian Paratha and Lassi with our very own RasaGola.

The Sun Temple:

"Here the language of stone surpasses the language of man." — Rabindranath Tagore


Konark Sun Temple is a 13th-century Sun Temple at Konark in Odisha. It is believed that the temple was built by king Narasimhadeva I of Eastern Ganga Dynasty around 1250 CE. The temple is in the shape of a gigantic chariot elaborately carved stone wheels, pillars and walls. A major part of the structure is now in ruins. The temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is also featured on NDTV's list of Seven Wonders of India and Times of India's list of Seven Wonders of India.

             The name Konark derives from the combination of the Sanskrit words, Kona (corner) and Arka (sun), in reference to the temple which was dedicated to the Sun god Surya.The temple was originally built at the mouth of the river Chandrabhaga, but the waterline has receded since then. The temple has been built in the form of a giant ornamented chariot of the Sun god, Surya. It has twelve pairs of elaborately carved stone wheels which are 3 meters wide and is pulled by a set of seven horses (4 on the right and 3 on the left).The temple follows the traditional style of Kalinga architecture. It is carefully oriented towards the east so that the first rays of sunrise strikes the principal entrance. The temple is built from Khondalite rocks.

 [ Look who is hiding !!!]

[Chhaya Devi]

Chhena jhili:

As I mentioned earlier, no trip in Odisha can be complete without tasting the unique sweet desserts it offers. While returning to Bhubaneswar, you can take a halt at a small village called Nimapada to have this famous dessert , Chhena jhili(Odia: ଛେନାଝିଲି) .It is prepared in fried cheese and sugar syrup and was first prepared by Aarta Sahoo from the Shyam Sundarpur Village of Nimapara.

Exploring Odisha: The Temple City Tour

            Bhubaneshwar, Odisha's capital is also called "The City of temples" . There are more than 700 temples here.The majority of these temples are dedicated to Lord Shiva. In fact the name Bhubaneshwar comes from Shiva's Sanskrit name, Tribhubaneswar, meaning "Lord of Three Worlds".

The wet and calm climate of monsoon tempted me to explore the city as it looked the best, drenched in rain.

Megheswar Temple: [Built : 12th- 13th Century AD]:

Like I mentioned, it was monsoon and quite coincidentally, the temple that we started our journey with was "Megheswar Temple". It was built in the traditional architecture style of the temples in Orissa, this shrine has an arched gateway and is surrounded by a lush green garden.This is one of the few place where you will find a west faced shiv ling.

Chausathi Yogini Temple/Mahamaya Temple: [Built : 9-10th Century AD]:

The 64 Yogini Temple is located in Hirapur, around 15 kilometers east of Bhubaneshwar. What makes this temple special is that it's one of only four yogini temples in India dedicated to the esoteric cult of tantra. It's shrouded in mystery and many locals are fearful of it.

The temple has 64 stone yogini goddess figures carved on its inside walls, representing the 64 forms of the diving mother created to drink the blood of demons. Interestingly, the temple doesn't have a roof. Legend has it that it's because the yogini goddesses would fly out and roam around at night.

The Daya River:

Rain... Clouds.. and the Daya River. I had to stop here to observe this beauty, drenched in monsoon. The epic Battle of Kalinga was fought at this river bank between Ashoka's army and Kalinga's warriors. Legend says, that after the battle which Ashoka won, the water of the river had turned red with blood.

Bhaskaresvara Temple : [Built : 13th- 14th Century AD]:

This temple provides a scale for the construction of Rukuna Chariot of Lord Lingaraja.

Rajarani Temple : [Built : 10th - 12th Century AD]:

The Rajarani temple is unique in that there is no deity associated with it. There's a story that the temple was a pleasure resort of an Oriya king and queen (raja and rani). However, more realistically, the temple got its name from the variety of sandstone used to make it.The carvings on the temple are particularly ornate, with numerous erotic sculptures. This often leads to the temple being referred to as the Khajuraho of the east.

Brahmesvara Temple : [Built : 11th - 12th Century AD]:

          The Brahmeshwar temple was built by the reigning king's mother in honor of the deity Brahmeshwar (a form of Lord Shiva). It's approximately 60 feet tall. Iron beams were used in the temple's construction for the first time. In addition, another first in temple iconography were the musicians and dancers that appear prolifically on the temple walls.

         The temple exterior is decorated with the figures of several gods and goddesses, religious scenes, and various animals and birds. There are quite a number of tantric related images on the western facade. Shiva and other deities are also pictured in their frightening aspects.

Parsurameswar Temple : [Built : 7th Century AD]:

         Dedicated to Shiva, this is the best-preserved of the early temples at Bhubaneshwar.The building includes a curving tower (rekha deul, subdivided into bhumis) over the sanctuary, and an adjoining mandapa (jagamohan) with two horizontal roof tiers (pidhas).

         There isn't a statue of Nandi on the grounds, although the sanctuary contains a lingam. The principal temple entrance is through the west end of the jagamohan, and there is a secondary door in the middle of the south side of the hall.

Mukteswar Temple : [Built : 10th Century AD]:

Standing 34 feet tall, the Mukteshwar temple is one of the smallest and most compact temples in Bhubaneshwar. However, it's famous for its exquisite stone archway, and ceiling with eight petal lotus inside its porch. A number of the carved images (including lion head motif) appear for the first time in the temple architecture.

The temple's name, Mukteshwar, means "Lord who gives freedom through yoga".

[The water over here is auctioned once in a year...Its believed that this water is helpful for ladies with conceiving problems.]

[Ancient Sun-dial]

Lingaraja Termple: [Built : 11th Century AD]:

The splendid Lingraj Temple (the king of lingas, the phallic symbol of Lord Shiva) represents the culmination of the evolution of temple architecture in Odisha. Its spire is around 180 feet tall. There are more than 64 smaller shrines in the sprawling temple complex as well. They're magnificently decorated with sculptures of gods and goddesses, kings and queens, dancing girls, hunters, and musicians.

No journey is complete in Odisha without its sweet dishes.

[Chhena poda at Lingaraja Temple]

 It is a cheese dessert . Chhena poda literally means burnt cheese in Oriya.
We are the people who invented some of the most celebrated sweet dishes in India.

[Very Less people know, that it is Odisha from where Rasgulla originated centuries ago, while it became popular in Bengal in the 19th century.

The rasgulla originated in Odisha, as Khir Mohana. It has traditionally been offered as a special offering to goddess Lakshmi a day after the famous Ratha Yatra or car festival at Jagannath Temple, Puri. The ritual seems to have existed for at least 600 years. 
The spongy, white variety of Rasgulla that is most popular today originated in present-dayWest Bengal. In 1868, a Kolkata-based confectioner named Nobin Chandra Das modified and perfected the traditional rasgulla recipe to produce this less perishable variant.]

[Mouth-watering, Chhena Maalpua at Lingaraja Temple]

I have my own way of eating the chhena maalpua. I put the whole of it in my mouth to enjoy the taste of it to the fullest.
I think, eating it like roti, is an insult ;).

Exploring Odisha: Dhauli and The Rock Edicts of Ashoka

          Dhauli hill is located at a distance of about 8 KMs from Bhubaneswar. Along the banks of River Daya stands the white buddhist Stupa.

History:

Ashoka(means "painless, without sorrow")(304–232 BCE), was son of the Mauryan emperor Bindusara and was the grandson of Chandragupta Maurya. During his reign, Mauryan empire had the largest expansion which include present day India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and some parts of Sri Lanka. He was believed to be a barbarous man, who proclaimed himself as the worthy king by killing all his brothers. He had a hunger of expanding his empire at the cost of anything. Therefore he was also known as “Chand-Ashoka”(Chand=Cruel). He had a huge army and rarely any king challenged him in war.

[Source: WIKI]

              Kalinga (present day Odisha) was a small state where people believed in democracy instead of Rajdharma, which was in a way a unique thing at that time in India. They were believed to be glorious and prosperous region consisting of freedom loving and artistic skilled people.

They were also the first in India to have done the trade with south east over the sea. Kalinga was under Magadha control during the Nanda rule, but regained independence with the beginning of the rule of the Mauryas. By regaining Kalinga, Mauryan empire would have benefited from both territorial and political (trade) side.

The Kalinga War:

It was the 261 BC, the 8th year of Ashoka's reign. He attacked with an army of about 20 times (60,000 infantry, 10,000 cavalry, 700 war elephants) of the size of Kalinga. To confront such a huge army, it is said that every man and women of Kalinga has come out on the battle field.

But still they were no match to the Mauryans. The battle was won by Ashoka. Next morning when the sun rose, it was a little redder in colour. It is said that the The Daya River near which the Kalinga war was fought, had its water turned red in blood that day.


Aftermath:

Ashoka could see the battle ground full of dead bodies and blood and wounded soldiers. He could hear the groaning of those who were injured and mourning of orphaned children and wives who lost their near and dear ones, Vultures were hovering over the dead bodies. At least 0.1 million Kalinga soldiers and almost equal number of Magadha soldiers were also killed. This battle which Ashoka thought, would be an easy one, was the bloodiest battle he had ever fought.
The Kalinga war prompted Ashoka to devote the rest of his life preaching “Ahimsa (non-violence)”. Following the conquest of Kalinga, Ashoka ended the military expansion of the empire, and led the empire through more than 40 years of relative peace, harmony and prosperity. He propagated Buddhism all over India and also towards Afghanisthan, Sri Lanka, Egypt and Africa.

The Stupa:

This is a "Peace Pagoda" that symbolizes one of the greatest historical events that occurred in India. The event that resulted spiritual change in the heart of the biggest and the most barbaric king India ever had. It also changed the very course of the future of Buddhism in India. Dhauli hill is presumed to be the area where the "Kalinga War" was fought.

[The River Daya]

Rock Edicts of Ashoka:

While going up-hill, I came across the Rock Edicts of Ashoka.
Discovered in the year 1837 by Lt. M. Kittoe, the set of rock edicts contain eleven out of the well-known 14 Rock Edicts of Ashoka . The language of the edicts is Magadhi Prakrita and the script being the early Brahmi. Here the Omission of the thirteenth edict is deliberate as it describes Ashoka’s conquest of Kalinga involving a great carnage, captivity and misery of the people. 

             On the rock above the inscription, is the sculpted forepart of an elephant carved out of live rock which symbolizes Buddha, the “best of elephants” (Gajottama) as in this form he was believed to have entered his mother’s womb in dream.

This is a very rare form of depiction of Buddha, so unique in a sense.

[Gajottama]

Light and Sound Show:

Recently a great initiative has been started by the Odisha Tourism. Don't miss the "Light and Sound" show at the evening which costs just 25 rupees per person. Had goose bumps when I witnessed the great history of my land narrated with the baritone voice of Mr. Om Puri.

               With the soothing feel of the wind at the top, a river that flows since ages with its water that sings the great history of Kalinga, and the "Shaanti Stupa" that stands as buddhist monk who still instills the idea of Peace in the world, took me back to that time and made me feel proud of my place and people.