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Lingaraj Temple

Old Town, Bhubaneswar, Khordha district, Odisha

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Lingaraj Temple
Photo: Satyakam Parthasarathy, CC BY-SA 4.0

About

Lingaraj temple is the largest and best-known temple of Bhubaneswar, Odisha's capital and its 'temple city'. Shiv ji is worshipped here as Lingaraj, 'king of lingas', and is also called Tribhuvaneshwar, Lord of the three worlds. The linga is a natural, uncarved stone, believed to be self-formed (swayambhu). The tower, about 180 feet high, is carved from top to bottom and is one of the finest examples of the Kalinga style of temple building. Built mainly in the 11th century, the complex holds more than a hundred smaller shrines inside a high wall. By temple custom, only Hindus may go inside; others can see the temple from a viewing platform beside the wall.

The story

Old texts call Bhubaneswar the Ekamra Kshetra, the 'land of the single mango tree', because tradition says the Lord here was first worshipped under a mango tree. The Ekamra Puran, a Sanskrit text of the 13th century, says the Lord stayed hidden here in the earlier ages and appeared as a linga in the later ones. A popular story tells that Maa Parvati killed two asuras at this place. After the fight she was thirsty, so Shiv ji called all the holy rivers and filled a lake for her. This is the Bindusagar lake near the temple, which devotees believe holds a drop (bindu) of every holy river and tank, and pilgrims bathe in it before darshan. Historians say the present temple was built in the 11th century by kings of the Somavamsi dynasty, such as Yayati Keshari, who moved his capital from Jajpur to Bhubaneswar, and that the Eastern Ganga kings added to it later. The Ganga kings, who also built the Jagannath temple at Puri, added images of Vishnu here, so the temple brings together the traditions of Shiv and Vishnu.

Visiting

October to March is the best time; Mahashivratri and Ashokashtami bring large crowds. By custom, pilgrims first bathe at Bindusagar and visit the Ananta Vasudev temple, and then go to Lingaraj. Nearby are the Mukteswar and Rajarani temples and the Udayagiri and Khandagiri caves, and Puri is about 60 km away.

Festivals

  • Mahashivratri (Phalgun): the great lamp (Mahadeep) is lit on the tower at night
  • Ashokashtami Ratha Yatra (Chaitra Shukla Ashtami)
  • Chandan Yatra: a 22-day festival on the Bindusagar lake
  • Shravan month: 'Bol Bam' pilgrims bring water from the Mahanadi

Famous temples

Sources