(a) Jagannath Mandir - Day darshan - must give puja

(b) Puri Sea Beach

(c) Flag hosting ceremony of Jagannath Mandir - in the evening from 6-6.30 p.m will be a memorable one to you.
(d) Konark and Chandrabhaga beach (3km) and Ranchandi beach
(e) Udaygiri, Khandagiri, Nandankanan, Temples of Bhubaneshwar
(f) Chilka trip
(g) Raghunathpur and Pipli to see the handicraft of orissa.
(h) Sangam
Must buy Jibe Gaja (khaja) from "Kakatuya"-r Sweet Shop or "Ganguram".

The hirakhand express pulled into Bhubaneswar station without a significant delay on the 28th of
December 2011. I had slept remarkably well in the three tier Air-Con compartment (something I
usually am not able to do on long journeys in any form being over six feet tall and reasonably
broad).
I do not remember much about the journey through the night of the 27th December except that my
cold (that I had contracted in Kanger Valley National park) was much better and that a co-passenger
had misinformed me that no dinner will be available on board. The latter is partially true, there is no
pantry car onboard which is surprising given the length 780 kms and the duration (nearly
seventeen hours) of the journey. A biryani seller did get onboard from Laxmipur Road (around 8 pm)
and sold spicy biriyani with even spicier gravy. I suppose that would have helped with the cold and
cough as well. The train was almost empty till Rayagada junction (10 pm) and then filled up to
capacity. I missed all the scenic sights of the hills and the tunnels as it was dark already.
Bhubaneswar station had a vibe that I cannot quite describe and it is there in most of the city as well.
Perhaps because it is not too far from the coast, the weather was much nicer and it was a welcome
change to get rid of the many layers I had been wearing through my bastar adventure. There was
vegetarian south Indian food on the station and I enjoyed a large plate of idlis for Rs 15/-, crispy
vadas and fresh filter coffee.
This part of my trip was courtesy a very good friend at work who was also well networked in the city
of Bhubaneswar. His friend who has some businesses in the city had agreed to loan a car for me for
this duration of my vacation. It was the make of the car that wasnt clear till I reached. In November
the discussion was that Id get a Mahindra scorpio ( a good sized Indian make SUV), then it was
changed to an alto ( a Japanese Subcompact), to a bajaj pulsar bike (which I had to explain to him,
very politely, wasnt a car).
Finally, what I received the keys to, when I reached his office in Bhubaneswar was a slightly beat up
Suzuki esteem (a Suzuki compact car). The car had done about forty thousand kilometers on the odo
and must have seen an accident (it was in a non-factory standard two-tone paint of white and blue).
There was a stereo, it just didnt work.
Still, I was very happy to be able to drive around again after a gap of ten days. I suppose when you
live in an automobile oriented society (that many of Indian cities have fast become over the years)
you do start feeling out of control when deprived of a self driven car for a few days.
So I drove out of the very uppity Forest Park area in Bhubanewar (just 2 kms out of the railway
station and full of charming bungalows) and promptly got lost.
Two good cups of tea, a tank full of petrol and a face-wash from a handpump by the roadside later I

found myself at Dhauli Hill the site of a 1970s shanti stupa (peace memorial) built by the Nippon
kalinga foundation. They have also built this imitation Ashokan pillar.

There was something a lot older to explore there, though over two millennia old.
In the year 269 B.C., Emperor Ashoka ascended the throne of Magadha the most powerful empire in
Ancient India of that time. For the next eight years, he continued to expand his reign- from the
Brahmaputra river in the east to the Persian kingdom (modern Iran) in the west well over the
mighty Indus. His northern boundary had reached a geographical barrier in the form of the Pamir Knot
and yet the southern one suffered from a wall not made by nature, but by man - the insubordinate
kingdom of Kalinga.
This feudal kingdom a feudatory of the predecessor dynasty of Magadha the nandas, stood
independent through the Mauryan reign that Ashokas grandfather had established over Pataliputra,
the capital of Magadha.
So Ashoka, in his ambitious state of mind waged war from 262 B.C. till 261 B.C. At the end of the war
ChandaAshoka (Ashoka the murderer as he was then known), stood by these very hills near modern
Bhubaneswar in a philosophical state of mind, troubled no doubt by the sight before his eyes.
His army of four hundred thousand had taken well over one hundred thousand lives from Kalinga
including many of her civilians in a feat of blood-thirst not seen before in Ancient India. The Daya
River that flows at the foot of the hills was red with blood for many days.
Devanampiya Piyadassi (lit: beloved of the gods and he who regards everyone with affection) was
filled with deep remorse and vowed to follow and further the path of Dharma and Ahimsa actively
from then onwards. It was with these feelings that he ordered the building of his rock edicts here.
From then on, Chanda-Ashoka was known as DhammaAshoka (Ashoka the follower of Dhamma)
The rock edicts at the Dhauli hills are one of the thirty three that dot the Indian subcontinent and
describe the Emperors moral percepts and his affinity for Dharma (the concept as described in
Buddhism). The edicts are numbered one to ten, and then two special rock edicts and finally number
fourteen (number thirteen is left out on purpose as it described the carnage in the Kalinga war). Edict
number 9 advises morality and liberality to brahmanas and sramanas thus making clear Ashokas
stance towards the two other sramanic sects prevalent in India at that time, Jainism as well as the
Ajivikas (A sect founded at the same time as Jainism and Buddhism but one that does not survive
today). This was indirect evidence on the historicity of Jainism its prominence in kalinga at that time. I
was to find more evidence of the same in another monument a few days later.

The edicts are etched on a single rock of about 12 feet width by 8 feet high and perhaps 4 feet depth
that is topped by a finely carved elephant statue that symbolizes Gajottama the best of elephants
the form in which Buddha is supposed to have entered his mothers womb.

Today, the edicts are shielded from lovelorn couples and other graffiti artists as well as the elements
by a concrete and glass enclosure. The elephant is exposed to the elements and faces a sizeable ficus
bengalinesis tree (known as a bodhi tree in Buddhist literature).

The area behind the rock is occupied by a finely maintained garden. It is a very peaceful setting
indeed for a site that saw a great war.

From here, I drove over to the Dhauli stupa and this proved to be an expensive mistake as far as
the time available to me for this trip goes. There was no peace on the pagoda only a severe traffic
jam of vehicles and humans at every step. Parking was a struggle and overall, the place would
probably be a fantastic visit on a quiet day but was certainly sub-par on the day I visited. There were
more crying babies and happy schoolchildren per square inch than anywhere else on my trip (see
below).

Dhauli does have some fine sculptures that depict the life of the Buddha (the color of the sculptures is
more due to dust the statue of Buddha is white marble)

It also has a few interesting signs that it was built by the Japanese (both seen below).

Around twelve thirty, I drove on to my first main attraction for this trip the great Sun Temple of
Konarak .
Shikharji(completed TR)
Last edited by vaibhav_arora; Aug 24th, 2012 at 17:41..

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#2

A Dash of Color
I left Dhauli shortly after half past twelve in the afternoon and started driving towards Konark via Pipli.
I actually didnt realize that I was close to Pipli till I saw a single shop to my left. It was full of the
famed Odisha appliqu work that people of Delhi have gotten used to seeing every year in Surajkund
and many other crafts promotion fairs that are held here.

A few pieces were unsual though such as the weaver bird nests (collected from the fields of the
primarily agrarian Odisha) decorated with faux birds.

Very close to this shop just a few feet before was a modern temple. There were some interesting
lions guarding the gate (below).

The lintel of the maingate showed the hindu monkey-god hanuman in various poses. It was worth
looking at again (below) and I felt compelled to explore this temple a bit more. It proved to be very
rewarding indeed.

Though the temple boasted of no historical value, the walls from the inside were adorned with over
one hundred scenes done as bas-relief murals in lime mortar and painted over.

Great Indian epics such as the Mahabharata and the Ramayana have been portrayed in their entirety
on the walls and the depictions spill over on the walls to the outside. Seen below is the part where

Bhishma Pitamaha was provided a bed of arrows by Arjuna, the third pandava during the eighteen day
war.

There were scenes from the puranas (as i recall the friendly pujari telling me) as well (such as the one
seen below).

Finally, each of the twelve pillars of the mandapam was adorned on four sides by a beautiful woman in
various sringaar mudras(see below for one gazing at her face in a mirror while applying vermillion)
they were so life-like!

After this short stop over I continued to drive on and found myself at a T-junction where the road
turned left for Konark and continued straight to Puri. Any second thoughts I had regarding whether I
should visit puri on that day or not were completely dispelled by the volume of traffic coming from
Konark and turning towards Puri.
I swung left .
Last edited by vaibhav_arora; Feb 12th, 2012 at 13:23..

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#3

By the Chandrabhaga
After another hours drive cutting across some lush paddy fields and coconut palm lined roads, I found
myself somewhere in the vicinity of the Konark village. By this time, as I hadnt had time for lunch
that day, and it was nearly half past two, I was famished. I started looking for a fresh coconut seller
or even some chai-wallah but there were none to be found.
Moving on, I noticed a couple buses from a college busy disgorging passengers in the middle of nowhere and felt that there should be a rest-stop or perhaps a place to eat. So I pulled up my car and
parked on the right of the road opposite to where the two buses were standing in front of a raw brick
wall. I walked over and between the two buses and came face to face with a modern but gorgeous
Nataraja statue. The idol was over fifteen feet high (see the palm trees at the back and side) and was
constructed of bronze.

This is a ten armed kalinga interpretation of the nataraja (the traditional chola interpretation is fourarmed) and while this statute is modern and has many differences from its Chola counterpart, it was a
superb piece. The snake is lifted by Shiva as opposed to it being wrapped around his waist as in Chola
iconography and the demon is much larger than the Tamil variant. The fire in the palm was the only
clearly common element.

I was to learn later that the Nataraja is an integral part of Kalinga art and sculpture and while
Rajendra Chola (son of the great Rajaraja Chola) did conquer kalinga, the nataraja depictions that are
well over two hundred years older may be seen in the Parsurameswar temple. The Kalinga nataraja is
also different from the Chola or Tamil Nataraja in proportions and elements depicted.
Most people were content getting as close as possible (and hence the fence around it constructed by
the temple authorities) and getting a few photos taken. It was a crowded spot and I left quickly after
drinking some water.
A half hour later, I had passed by the Sun temple, not stopping there but saving the first sight for a
better hour (post sunset or early morning) and also because at that time, all my luggage was in the
car and I had to find a place for the night.
The village of Konark is remarkably compact and very peaceful. After the tour-buses leave (around 4
in the afternoon these days) it gets quiet too. I found a nice room in Labanya Lodge with a double
bed, good clean bathroom with hot shower and cable tv. The owner is a helpful chap and lives on
premises (though his sense of color is a bit off see photo below). The prices vary by the kind of
room selected but the one concession I was able to get for staying single is that my checkout would
be 24 hours (I was past three when I had checked in).

After some rest and a shower, I drove over to the ASI museum opposite the Konark temple.
Photography is not permitted inside the museum but Id recommend it to everyone with an interest in
history and especially those whod like their konark visit to be more than a photo-tour. The museum
houses many pieces of sculpture that had fallen off the temple (the sun temple was re-discovered in
19th century by British army officers. There are some photographs of late 19th and early 20th century
that show the temple as little more than a heap of stones half buried in the sand and overgrown with

large banyan trees. What I didnt like about the museum is that theres no audio guide nor are the
descriptions adequate for the kind of sculptures present inside the premises. Still, it is worth the time
and also I was able to buy the ASI world heritage series publication that covered Konark, Puri,
Bhubaneswar and also included an excellent map of the area this proved very useful over the next 3
days.
I was eager to hit the beach it would have brought my trip (starting with Amarkantak- a hill station
at a height of a thousand metres a week ago) a full circle in some ways. So I drove the 3 kms to the
Chandrabhaga beach. The beach is unlike many Ive visited. Casuarina trees line it and the access
head is fairly narrow. For some reason, all the two hundred and fifty visitors that day chose to stay in
a close huddle of no more than a couple hundred metres. Thus, I had to walk very little to enjoy some
solitude. It was scenic indeed!

This joy was short lived as the cloud cover grew thicker and the waves wilder. The air was cold and so
I left.

I was also somewhat weary from the entire days driving (though very happy to have made it this far)
and found some shacks to have a snack and some tea. There were two in the parking lot, one was
selling fresh gulgula an orissan sweatmeat made of semolina flour, mildly sweet and deep fried. Its
very light and the consistency like a freshly done medu vada but softer and sweet. I also tried some
rasabali (my favorite orissan dessert) thats like the north Indian rasmalai but a key difference is
that the balls are fried and are a dark brown color. The milk of the dessert is also heated longer than
the one that goes in rasmalai. An variant of the rasagulla was also available it was light brown in
color. I couldnt take pictures of any as the sweets rapidly went sliding down in my mouth!
Satiated, I drove back to the lodge and then parked my car there for the night. It was nearly sunset
and time to go over to the temple for a visit when it is lit. My first impression of the temple was how
well it deserves to be in the Unesco list and how much of a wonder it really is. The scale combined
with the realization that I was looking at something built in the thirteenth century when no modern
methods of construction (no cranes, forklifts, concrete, not even cement!) were available did make me
wonder how the architects, masons and the king himself didnt step back from what they had set out
to do. Every angle I captured made me think that those must have been a really resolute set of people
truly determined.

I didnt hire a guide this evening; two approached me including one that claimed he had descended
from a family of masons who built the temple. Thanks to his lineage he was, by his own claim, entitled
to a hundred and fifty rupees (as against a charge or Rs one hundred that the ASI approves of). The
other one didnt have the authentic card that the survey provides. I finally met Mr Narsing Nayak who
had the requisite identification and seemed like a genuine fellow. I had to convince him a bit to show
up early enough the next morning (at seven am) before the crowds start squatting over every inch of
this sandstone marvel.

I took a walk around the temple leisurely, capturing a bit and just wondering more and more all my

reading about the temple and the dose of history that the museum had imparted just failed to add up
to the sense of awe that I was experiencing then. The yellow floodlights definitely added to the color
of the stone and it was much more peaceful than it normally is during the day.

As the night-watchmen started shooing out the last of the visitors outside the temple complex (they
whistle real loud) around 8 pm, I climbed up one of the stone platforms to the side and captured this
shot.

It was past 8 pm when I sat down under the large banyan tree (next to the natya mandapa the
dancing hall) and it started drizzling. So I went back to the lodge and joined an Indian gentleman
living in Italy and a Scottish-Finnish woman for dinner that evening at a restaurant in the village. They
had some plans for the New Year eve to get together on the Chandrabhaga beach and were generous
enough to invite me.
I drifted into a drunken stupor like sleep out of exhaustion that night. It had been an amazing day
my first day in Odisha.
Last edited by vaibhav_arora; Feb 12th, 2012 at 15:47.. Reason: clarity

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Sunrise at the Sun Temple

On the twenty ninth of December, I woke up early it was still dark outside and the entire
management of labanya lodge (that comprised Tutuji the owner and a man Friday) were sound asleep.
Luckily, my room had an instant electric geyser. It is on a trip like this through the jungles and
villages of Bastar did I really get to appreciate little conveniences of modern living like a hot shower.
It certainly helped me wake up to my fullest extent before six in the morning.
I had to wake up the owner to get the gate unlocked and literally ran to the temple complex from to
find a completely deserted ticket window. I bought my ticket and excited, on being able to beat the
tourist crowd that would soon start pouring over by the busloads, ran to the main entrance of the
Konarak temple. At half past six it was still beautifully empty the way I wanted to see it (see below
for the entrance the nara-gajasimha statues are prime target for people to pose next to).

From the nata-mandira (dancing hall building), devoid of people in the frame, I captured a single shot
(unfortunately hazy due to the cloudy morning) of the nata-mandira in front and the jagamohana
(assembly hall or hall for common worship). Seen below the Jagamohana (in color) as viewed from
the nata-mandira (in B/W)

As such, the Sun temple of Konarak or Konark as it stands today is a breathtaking empty shell of its
former glory during the middle ages. The temple is the culmination of five centuries of successive
advancements in temple building in kalinga (the earliest specimen of this style I was to see in two
days time at the Parsurameswar temple in Bhubaneswar). Enough is available on the internet and in
guide books about the story of Konarks construction and the conspiracy theories of its collapse
including the existence of a lodestone all that I will get to, somewhat later.
From the main entrance at the east, I kept walking southwards and was amazed (again) at the scale
of the collapsed sanctuary. See below - an average Indian visitor is no more than half the wheel of
Suryas Chariot (the entire temple was conceived and completed as a twenty four wheel chariot pulled
by seven horses)

I reached a small brick temple discovered in 1959. This small temple, located at the very end (south
west corner of the complex) is actually a vaishnavite temple and the one that I sadly forgot to capture
due to my preoccupation with photographing the structure before people started crowding the frame.
From here, though, I was able to get a photo of the temple complex and seen here are (in front) the
subsidiary shrine of mayadevi, and then the collapsed sanctuary and (with scaffolding necessary to
provide it strength) the Jagamohan . Combined with the time spent last evening, this walk-around did
help me understand a bit about the structure that we see today. The collapsed sanctuary (or the main
temple) is a rekha deul (curvilinear design temple in Kalinga architecture style) while the Jagamohan
is a pidha deul (pyramidal roof design temple). All four structures (three of the main temple and one
of temple 2) are labeled in the photo below.

I continued to walk from the south west corner in the north east direction circling the mayadevi /
chhayadevi temple (again sans a roof) and came across this lovely chlorite water spout fashioned as

an alligato
or (called ma
akara in kalinga).

The maya
adevi temple complex is known
k
as tem
mple 2 by the ASI and this along with the brick temple
(known as number 3 the

vaishnav
vite temple and
a
the oldestt in the comp
plex) points to worship of
deities other than the sun as a prin
ncipal deity in
n the sun tem
mple complex
x back in its heyday.
h
Some
e say
Mayadevi was the wife
e of Surya an
nd others maiintain that this was actuallly the origina
al sun temple
e
before tem
mple 1 was constructed.
c
A sun idol on the wall of the Mayadevi temple does
s lend credence to
that theorry.

By this tim
me, it was a bit past seven and I had to
t call Mr Nay
yak to figure out if he was
s going to show
up. He took another th
hirty minutes
s during which I continued
d to explore and
a
make sen
nse of how th
he
principles
s of the kaling
ga school of temple
t
archittecture were employed in the temple 1 and looking at
the differe
ent colors of stones used.. The dark green color is Chlorite,
C
principally used in
i door frame
es
and some
e sculptures, the light gold
den brown is Khondalite and
a
the third laterite is invisible to visitors
(as it has been used in
n the foundattion and as th
he support fo
or the khonda
alite exterior)). The subseq
quent
two posts
s include desc
criptions of sc
culpture seen
n at Konarak that he helpe
ed me unders
stand. Ive allso
extensive
ely referred to
o the ASI guide for Konara
ak bought fro
om the museum and some
e documents from
the intern
net.

Konark Sun Templle[edit]

The Sun Temple
T
UNESC
CO World Herittage Site built in 13th centuru in the honor of
o the sun-god Surya
S
is curren
ntly
under ruinss. The entire te
emple was desiigned in the shape of a colosssal chariot with
h 24 wheels about three mete
ers
high and pulled by seven horses, carryin
ng the sun god
d, Surya, across the heavens.. Surya has been a popular deity in
India since
e the Vedic periiod.

View of the Jagamohan

J
and th
he ruined shikhara
a of the Surya Tem
mple at Konark

The Temple
T
compou
und measures 857
8 ft (261 m) by 540 ft (160 m) The alignm
ment of the Sun Temple is on the
t
east-w
west direction.

The entire temple wa

as planned in such
s
a way that it is fitted with
h twelve pairs of
o exquisitely decorated stone
e
wheels. The horses were conceive
ed in such a wa
ay that the Sun God (Surya) himself
h
drives th
his chariot, his place
being inside the garb
bhagriha.

The major
m
entrance in the temple iss place on the east side and iti faces the sea
a. This entrance is located in the
faade
e of bhogaman
ndapa which is also known ass the Hall of Offferings. The scculptures of dan
ncers as well as
a
musiccians is engrave
ed on the wallss of this hall, he
ence the hall was
w later used fo
or the traditional dance recita
al.

On the
e western side of the temple lies the sanctuary tower whicch are now noth
hing but just a clutter
c
of variou
us
sandsstone slabs whiich are kept one over anotherr. This impressive constructio
on is believed to
o have a pyram
midical
roof co
ommonly know
wn as jaganmo
ohan.

The ro
oof of jagamohana has a rooff that has aroun
nd 3 tiers and many
m
statutes are
a placed ove
er them. The statutes
are eitther of dancers
s or the musicia
ans. The platfo
orm at the base
e also has a scu
ulpture of Lord Shiva as Nata
araja
and pe
erforming the dance.
d
The inte
erior of the terra
ace is now-a-d
days barren up..

The sttairs that takes

s you up toward
ds the Statute of
o Surya is loca
ated beyond the terrace. The statute of the Sun
S
god iss carved out a huge
h
green colored chlorite stone. It is supp
posed to be the
e most beautiful work of art prresent
in Kon
nark. However, the entrance door
d
to the Jag
ganmohan is cu
urrently closed due to rapid fa
all of debris and
d
stoness from the ceiling.

Key attrractions in Konark Tem

mple[edit]
The Konarak temple also
o marks the culm
mination of the
e temple buildin
ng architecture in Odisha. Apa
art from the
depiction of
o the stone wheels and the ca
aparisoned horrses drawing th
he colossal cha
ariot of Sun Go
od, the Konarakk
Temple is a typical example of the Odishan temple arcchitecture. The
e temple is not different
d
from those
t
of other
regions.

The eastern gateway

y which is the main
m
entrance to the temple compound,
c
is decorated
d
with Gajasimha (Lio
on
upon an
a elephant) im
mages, with outward faces, in
nstalled on two high stone-ben
nches on either side of the
passa
age.

This picture is not of a sundial. It is an intricate representation

r
of the Dharmachakrra, or Wheel of Su
un, Konark

The wheels
w
of the ch
hariot are also symbolic and have
h
been interpreted as the 'Wheel of Life'. They portray the
cycle of creation, pre
eservation and achievement of
o realisation. The
T diameter of
o each of the wheels
w
is aboutt
nine(2
2.73 metres) feet and each off them has a se
et eight equal parts.
p
They are elaborately ca
arved all over. The
T
thicke
er ones are all carved
c
with circcular medallion
ns at their centrres on the wide
est part of the face.
f
The axelss of
the wh
heels project by
y about one foo
ot from the surrface, having siimilar decoratio
ons at their end
ds. The rims arre

carved with designs of foliages with various birds and animals, whereas the medallions in the spokes are carved
with the figures of women in various luxurious poses, mostly of erotic nature.

The nata mandir in front of the Jagamohana is exquisitely carved with the images of dancers, flora and foliage,
men in armor, and creatively eroticism.

There are three images of the Sun God (earlier four) at the top, facing each direction to catch the rays of the sun
at dawn, noon and sunset.

The figures of elephants which had originally stood on the side walls of the flights of steps at the northern and
southen sides of the Jagamohana, were found amidst the confused mass of debris.

The Melakkadambur Shiva temple, built in the form of a chariot during the age of Kulottunga Chola I (10751120), is the earliest of this kind, and is still in a well preserved state. [Note: Kulottunga Chola is also credited
with having built the Suryanaar temple near Kumbhakonam.]

There is a small museum outside the temple compound run by Archaelogical Survey of India, which stores the
sculpture from the temple ruins. It remains open from 9.00 A.M. to 5.00 P.M. of Saturday to Thursday. Friday is
closed. Entry is free of cost.

To the south west of the Sun temple there is the temple of Goddess Ramachandi. There are, however,
difference of opinion about the presiding deity of this temple. It has been surmised by some that this was the
temple of Mayadevi, wife of Surya (Sun god) while others opine that it was the earlier Sun temple in which Sun
was being worshipped.

Other attractions[edit]
Though the Konark temple is the key tourist attraction in the area. However, if you wish to stay in Konark for a full-day
it is advisable to spend other destination spots otherwise abandoned or see few visitation. If travelling by the OTDC
or private tour operators - these destinations are either narrated by the bus operators or halted for approximately an
hour during the trip.

Ramchandi Folk Tales

There are a number of popular
stories involving Ramachandi as the
chief goddess of the Konark kshetra
and most probably Ramachandi was
the presiding deity of this temple.
There is also a popular story about
why Ramachandi left Konark after
the Muslim Suleman Kalapahad
destroyed the Sun temple.
It is stated that after destroying the
Sun temple, Kalapahad came to
Ramachandi's temple in the back
side of the Sun temple in south
estern corner. The goddess
Ramachandi dressed as a Maluni

(maid servant) told Kalapahad to wait

at the door till she returned with
water for the goddess. Kalapahad
waited anxiously to get some cold
water for a long time. But when it
was too late he entered into the
temple and found the throne empty.
Then he followed the Maluni with
great anger thinking that the Maluni
carried away the goddess. He
reached the bank of the river
Kushabhadra and found the goddess
Ramachandi floating in the middle of
the river. The river was as in full
spate, he came back without being
able to cross the river. Being advised
by goddess in a dream, a Panda
(priest) built a temple on the bank of
the river Kushabhadra, near the sea
shore which is a sandy deserted
place.

Chandrabhaga Sea Beach - Situated 3km east of the famous Sun temple of Konark and 30km from Puri,
Chandrabhaga is rich in its marine resources. A light house, close by Chandrabhaga is an added histronic to the
splendour of the place. A climb to its top truely takes you to a world of utopia. A natural deer park is recent
additions to the riches of Chandrabhaga. There is an anicient Matha believed to be the Ashram of
Chandrabhaga's father and two small temples. The sight has asthetic and importance.

Ramchandi Temple - Situated 7km enroute to Konark on the marine road from Puri. Ramachandi is popularly
beleived the presiding deity of 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 Puri. The beach is often
crowded by local students as a romantic escapade or families picknicking on the weekend. The main temple
along with its Mukhasala had been built on one platform of 3'.2 (965 cm) high. On the three sides of the temple
walls i.e. south, west and north there were three figures of Sun god as side Gods. Now one can see these side
gods in north and southern side, where as the figure of the western side has been displaced and is said to have
been preserved in the National Museum at New Delhi. This image is said to have some sculptural specialisation
and is regarded to be one of the beautiful images of the Sun god. Though smaller in size, the side-gods of this
temple are of similar type in all respet with the side-Gods in the Sun temple. Only we find today the side images

of the northern side is somewhat in good condition while the image in the southern side has no head and the
hands broken.

Kuruma - Situated 8km the south-east of the sun temple of Konark is a popular Buddhist site. site was built
between 9th - 10th centuries A.D. The monastery, now abandoned, containing an exxcavated statue of Buddha
seated cross legged with right hand in Bhumisparsa mudra while the left hand placed over his left knee. The
image also wears a beautiful crown and a beautifully carved necklace.

Pipili - Situated 23km from Konark, the small village of Pipli has a very wide and distinctive selection of
handicrafts. It is a small village. On the main road at Pipili there are many shops selling Applique work products,
tourist visiting Puri buy these products from Pipili.

Goddess Mangala and

Nabakalebar
During the renovation of deities of
Puri new idols are created for Lord
Jagannath, Balaram, and Subhadra.
The new idols are created from a
sacred wood known as 'Daru
Brahma' in local language. Nobody
knows from where to find the sacred
wood to create the new idols, so as
per the tradition the priests of Lord
Jagannath temple come to Kakatpur
Mangala to pray the Goddess to help
them to find the sacred wood. The
priests seelp in front of the Goddess
with their face down and then
Goddess Mangala come in their
dream and tell the exact location of
the three sacred trees for the three
deities. This custom has been
performed from years together
without any deviation.

Kakatpur - Situated 30km from Konark is a small village on the Puri-Astaranga road. Situated on the bank of
river Prachi, this temple is famous for Goddess Mangala. The Kakatpur Mangala temple has a close relation with
Lord Jagannath temple of puri during the Navakalebara (Renovation of the Deities) festival. The most popular

festival of Goddess Mangala is 'Jhamu Yatra'. It occurs on the first Tuesday of the Secred month Vaisakh (April
14 to May 15) every year.

Concerns over the Safety[edit]

Although Archeological Survey of India (ASI) are working on the restoration of this maginificent heritage structure
implemented with masterly touch illustrating diverse themes arrest the attention of the spectator yet concerns were
raised by different quarters in Odisha over the deteriorating condition of the Sun temple.
Legends describe load stone on the top of the Sun temple. Due to its magnetic effects, vessels passing through the
Konark sea were drawn to it, resulting in heavy damage. Other legends state that magnetic effects of the load stone
disturbed ships' compasses so that they did not function correctly. To save their shipping, the Portuguese voyagers
took away the load stone, which was acting as the central stone and keeping all the stones, and the iron columns
used to hold them walls together, of the temple wall in balance. Due to its displacement, the temple walls lost their
balance and eventually fell down. But there is no record of this occurrence in any historical records, nor is there any
record of the existence of such a powerful load stone at Konark Temple.
But the Konark Surakhya Samiti (save Konark committee) said that falling down of stones from the 13th century
monument had turned into a regular feature. Chunks of masonry have fallen off at regular intervals. On September
19, 1998 a two-tonne cornice stone on the northeastern side of the jagmohan fell off onto a ledge. The interior of the
jagmohan has been sealed off ever since 1951, when conservation work on the monument was seriously taken up for
the first time. The walls were shored up from the inside and the interior was filled with sand to prevent imminent
collapsesuch was its tenuous state.
One reason why no major steps are being taken by the ASI officials is for fear it might lead to the total collapse of the
crumbling temple.

1. Lingaraj Temple Beautiful Shiva temple. It has several small temples inside the complex
dedicated to other deities. When I had gone last time a few years back, pilgrims were allowed
into the main shrine and to touch the linga and do puja. Looks like now pilgrims are stopped
before the garbhagraha itself. The Parvati temples natamandira is a beautiful place to see
and sit peacefully for sometime. This is a fully functional temple. So no cameras allowed
inside.
2. Vaithal Temple This is a very small temple of the Tantric cult. It is one of the oldest
temples in Bhubaneswar built in the 8th century. The main deity has Lakshmi, Sarasvati and
Durga combined into one altar. It has a vaulted ceiling like Dravidian style. It is a rare
architectural feature in Orissa. (The best example of vaulted ceiling is Chidambaram temple
in Tamilnadu. Tamilnadu has a number of temples with vaulted ceiling.) Not many people
visit this temple. The priest was very happy to see us. He nicely explained about the place.
This temple is very close to Bindu Sagar.
3. Ekamravan Medicinal Plants Park This is a beautiful park at the border of Bindu Sagar.
From here, we could get a distant view of Lingaraj Temple. You can see pictureshere.
4. Kedar Gauri Temple This is a beautiful temple of Kedarnath and Gauri. This is a fully
functional temple.
5. Mukteshwar Temple This is next to Kedar Gauri Temple. This is not a fully functional
temple. So you can let your camera fly. It is a typical Nagara style temple with one big

imposing difference. It has a Buddhist style arch in the front. I was really surprised to see the
arch in a Hindu temple, that too belonging to the 10th century AD. (The only two other
places where I have seen Buddhist style arches in a Hindu temple are Chinmaya Mission at
Powai, Mumbai and Sharika Devi temple in Srinagar. But both of them are very very recent.)
You can see some pictures here.
6. Raja Rani Temple This is a non-functional temple maintained by ASI as a sample. It has a
huge manicured lawn in the front, like in several such ASI sites. You can find a lot of features
in this temple, which can be found in other functional temples where photography is not
allowed. You can see some pictures here.
7. Dauli Temple This is the site from where King Ashoka saw the result of his gory war
against the Kalinga army in 261 BC. The sight made him decide never to wage a war again.
He was already under tremendous pressure from his Buddhist wife (towards whom he had a
weakness) and his Buddhist children (under the influence of their mother) to convert to
Buddhism. The Kalinga war was a trigger point for Ashoka to convert to Buddhism. This
event had a great impact on the history of the world. By the efforts of King Ashoka,
Buddhism spread upto Greece and Alexandria in the west. By this, Buddhism influenced the
Greco-Roman culture, which found its expression as Christianity. Christianity is a rebel child
of Judaism, just like Buddhism is a rebel child of Hinduism. Christianity borrowed a lot of
ideas from Buddhism like locating the next religious leader by a star (like location of Dalai
Lamas even today), ideas of non-violence, importance to moral values in life, asceticism,
monastic communities, missionaries, royal patronage, religious councils to formulate
doctrines, concept of apostles, etc. The list is endless. Anyone who reads the way the
Christian councils were conducted can see the similarity with the Buddhistic councils. The
first Buddhist Council at Rajagriha predates the first Christian Council at Nicaea by seven
centuries. Anyone who reads the Benedictine rules for monks can see the similarity with the
Buddhist monastic rules formulated almost ten centuries back. If not for spreading of
Buddhism by King Ashoka to Greece and Alexandria, Christianity would be very very
different from what it is now. The Holy Roman Empire would not have been formed. Jesus
of Nazareth would have been a not-so-significant person in history. Crusades would not have
happened. Spread of Islam would have been unchecked in Europe. The world would have
been very very different !!! India also would have been very different. Vedic Hinduism would
have continued to be popular instead of the Pauranic Hinduism that is popular now. Tantric
cult would not have been there. Huge ornate temples would not have been there. Hindu
monasteries would not have been there as today. The kings would have retained more
fighting spirit instead of talking about non-violence and vegetarianism. Islamic invasions
would have been checked completely at the borders of India. One event that happened in 261
BC changed the course of Indian and World history completely. Dauli is the place where it
happened. There are Asokan rock edicts on the way to Dauli dating back to that time. You
can see some pictureshere.

8. 64 Yoginis Temple This is a very old Tantric temple. It has no roof. It is a open temple.
There are 64 yoginis, a number of rudras and katyayanis. It looks very probable that this is
an ancient site of human and animal sacrifice. Each katyayani stands on a severed human
head, holding a cup of fresh blood, with a dog and jackal waiting with open mouth and an
attendant holding an umbrella. You can find some pictures here. Near the temple, we visited
the house of a couple who were artists. They make patachitra work. They had made
marvelous paintings and lattice work on palm leaves. We bought a few of them. Later we
found that these were much cheaper than the price at Pipili.
9. Khandagiri and Udaigiri Caves- These are caves that were a part of a Jain monastery built
around 1st century BC by King Kharavela. There are inscriptions dating to that period. There
is also a more recent functional Jain temple on the top of Khandagiri. There is the base of a
destroyed temple on the top of Udaigiri. You can find some pictures here.
We missed two important temples: Brahmeshwar Temple and Prasurameshwar Temple. If you
are going, dont miss them.
After these, we went for some shopping and went back to hotel.
Next day was started again at 8am and drove towards Chilka Lake.
On the way, we visited Sakhi Gopal temple. There is a very interesting legend behind this temple
about how Krishna followed a devotee from Vrindavan to South India to appear as witness in a
lawsuit. This is a fully functional temple and so no pictures.
Chilka Lake is a huge lake with a lot of things to see. We saw these: dolphins, crabs, pearl being
taken out from oysters, birds hunting fish and the mouth of the river into the sea. We had lunch
near the boating society office. It took us three and half hours to cover all these. Watching birds
hunting fish by themselves and stealing fish from the fishing nets was nice. Dolphin sighting was
fun. They come up for air for a few seconds and vanish back into the sea. The boatman spotted
one for us and asked us to keep watching in an area of the expanse of water. Then we were
following the dolphin and saw it several times as it came up for air every few minutes. I caught
on camera a small glimpse of one before it vanished into the water. The throwing of the net by
fishermen was nice to see. (I have seen the same style in Kumarakom lake in Kerala.) You can
find some pictures here.
After that we went to Puri and checked into Hotel Lee Garden. As it was close to New Year Eve,
it was very difficult to get a booking even when I tried two months back. Based on ratings and
reviews from sites like TripAdvisor, finally I could find this as the only decent hotel still
available. All other hotels and resorts were already fully booked. Hotel Lee Garden was not bad.
It was an old hotel with some repainting done recently. The toilet was Indian style. Some people
would have found it difficult to use. But the room was spacious.

Then came the grand moment that the pilgrimage was for to catch a glimpse of Puri
Jagannath. We went to the temple. It was bhog time. So we were not allowed inside. Earlier I
had gone to the garbhagraha. With the experience in Lingaraj temple, I thought here also they
have stopped allowing people inside. After going in the queue twice and having darshan from
the jagamohana only, we thought we have to be satisfied with this. We spent some time looking
at the beautiful paintings and images in the jagamohana. We went out and paid for food
offerings in one of the offices. We got some prasad after being offered to the Lord. We started
visiting the smaller temples in the complex. We saw a queue standing before a ticket counter.
We asked the people what the ticket was for. They said it was to visit the garbhagraha. We
immediately joined the queue. After waiting for 30 mins, the bhog time was over and we got the
ticket and went into the temple again.
Entering the garbhagraha of Jagannath is always an unique experience. I have never seen a
murthi as beautiful and captivating as Jagannath. I have tried to reason several times trying to
understand what is so attractive in that formless form. I have never been able to decipher the
secret of that soul-stirring form of Jagannath. Even as I imagine the form as I write this, I am
breathing heavy with emotion. That is the secret of Jagannath. Once the eyes are set on the form
of Jagannath, it needs a lot of effort to turn the eyes away from Him. Again and again the head
automatically turns and the eyes gets fixed on His form. I thought it happened only to me. But I
found that even my six year old son, who is usually very very restless and cannot stand in one
place for more than a minute, was so absorbed in Jagannath that he did not speak one word for
the full ten minutes that we were in the garbhagraha. Even my pre-teen daughter, who would
say let us go the next second after entering any temple, did not speak a word. Even my wife
was speechless. This is a place where time stops; all thought of outside world does not enter.
Every moment in that sacred place is filled with a joy unspeakable. If anyone wants to know
what the Bible means by the words, the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, he
should just enter the garbhagraha of Jagannath. The sight of Jagannath is always an experience
of a lifetime. The experience hits so hard that after stepping out of the garbhagraha it takes
sometime to recover enough to think of the next plan in the itinerary. For sometime one moves
like a robot, totally lost in the fresh memory of the form of Jagannath. Slowly, the thoughts of
the outside world take over and one reluctantly returns to normalcy. In reality, the experience of
Jagannath is the pristine pure original normal state and the extroverted state is the abnormal
state. Anytime when the mind is troubled by the trivialities of the world, just recall the moments
spent in front of Jagannath and world just vanishes like a dream.
Next day we started towards Konark. On the way, we visited Ramchandi, which is a Tantric
temple. Our next stop was Chandrabhaga Beach. There was a small sand art festival going on.
Some of the sand sculptures were there on display. Of course, these were no where close to the

master pieces of the maestro Sudarsan Pattnaik. Still, they were pretty good. You can find some
pictures here.
Konark is one of the most famous heritage sites of India. Anytime I see a Hindu heritage site like
this, anywhere North of the two southern-most states, there arises a great pain at the damage
and destruction that have been caused by the Muslim invaders and rulers of India. There is
some credit to the Muslim rulers for building structures like the Moghul monuments in Delhi,
Agra and Fatehpur-sikri, the Gol Gumbaz, the Golconda, etc. (brushing aside the dispute
regarding the construction of the Moghul monuments.) But what they have destroyed is
unimaginable compared to what they have built. The Qutub Minar site, Vijayanagar ruins,
Konark, etc are standing testimonies of the destructive effect of religious intolerance.
No sane person can avoid feeling great pain at the destruction of art, architecture and culture
that has happened to Konark in the hands of the Muslim rulers. What remains in Konark is just
some of the outer parts of the jagamohana, some pillars of the natamandir and almost none of
the shikara. What we see today is less than 10 percent of the magnificent Sun temple built in the
13th century. The height of the jagamohana that we see today is only 54% of the height of the
shikara which was pulled down by the Muslims.
Indians are heavily indebted to the great Lord Curzon for saving and restoring the monuments
of India like the Taj Mahal and Konark. The earlier British officers were using monuments like
the Red Fort as barracks and other precious monuments for menial use. Lord William Bentinck
even had a plan to pull down the Taj Mahal for its marble. He gave up the project only because
the cost of pulling it down would be more than the cost of the marble that it would yield. (Taj
Mahal is built of red bricks with a marble facade.) It was on the insistence of Lord Curzon that
monuments like Taj Mahal and Konark were restored. In 1904 Lord Curzon got the Ancient
Monuments Preservation Act passed. But for Lord Curzon, we would not be having most of the
great monuments in India today.
I came to know that Konark means Kona Arka Sun at an angle. The entire structure faces
east. There are three series of gaps in between the ornate pillars of the natamandir. The temple
is built such that only on the two equinox days (March 20/21, September 22/23) the rising suns
rays pass through the center gap and fall on the deity in the temple. During March to September,
the rising suns rays come through one series of gaps and fall on the deity. During September to
March, the rising suns rays come through other series of gaps and fall on the deity. The entire
temple is designed as a chariot with 24 wheels, pulled by 7 horses. Each of the 24 wheels of the
temple act as sundials with markings to be accurate to less than a minute. The entire temple is
also an astronomical device to measure time.
The Konark temple is the epitome of the art and architecture of Orissa. It has various forms of
dance movements, musical instruments, life of different kinds of people, different religions in

vogue at that time, etc. There are a lot of erotic sculptures. There are sculptures of celestial
beings and deities. There are panels showing marching armies elephants, soldiers, horses, etc.
There is a panel showing people resting during midday during a long travel with bullock carts,
cooking food using a makeshift stove made of stones and mud. There is a panel showing robbers
waylaying a group of traders. There are panels showing travelers from China and Persia. There is
a panel showing some people from Africa gifting a giraffe to the king. Various scenes in the life
of ordinary people are depicted, like a woman playfully breaking a branch of a tree, a woman
sending a parrot as a messenger, a woman waiting anxiously for her husband, etc. There are
some pictureshere.
Let people from all over the world, belonging to all cultures and religions come and see what is
left of Konark and realize the horror of intolerance.
After visiting Konark, we had breakfast at a Kamat hotel directly in front of the monument. We
started towards Bhubaneshwar. We stopped at Pipili to buy some beautifully colored cotton
applique items. We reached Bhubaneshwar airport around 1pm.
It was a memorable trip highlighting the rich culture of Orissa. We saw the ancient history and
culture. We saw great ancient stone monuments. We also saw that there were stone sculpting
workshops on the roadsides in several places, capable of creating the same grandeur. We saw
great paintings in the walls and ceilings of ancient temples. We saw the same kind of paintings
being drawn on cloth by local artists. India has a great heritage. There is a marvelous continuity
of culture. It is a great thing that today I am able to relate to monuments that were built more
than 2000 years back. I am able to relate to the literature that was written more than 5000 years
back. I am able to speak the same language. I am able to appreciate the same stories. I am able
to relate to the same ideas. It is the same culture. It the same blood that runs in my veins. It is
the same rhythm that beats in my heart. It is the same ideas of purity, peace, justice and priority
that India has to offer to the world. The world needs this eternal message of India. It is the duty
of every Indian to the world to soak in this culture and deliver the message to the world. Can we
live up to it?