Bhubaneshwar (Orissa)
The ancient city of Bhubaneshwar is also the modern capital of Orissa. With 600 temples still extant, temples are to this ancient city as forts are to Rajasthan. It is probably the only city in the world that enables an authentic overview of the stages of development of Hindu religious architecture.
Oriya, Hindi, and English are the languages commonly spoken here. In the fast moving world of today the temples of Bhubaneshwar are a gentle reminder of the splendour, the heritage that was once India. It is not hard to imagine what a temple would have been at the time of its patron ruler.
Bhubaneshwar (Bhuban being world and Iswar God) once the ancient capital of the Kalinga Empire and now the capital of Orissa is a town of temples and tanks with a rich history.
Temples in Bhubaneshwar are built on a common plan as prescribed by Hindu norms and it is believed that the beauty of this place inspired Rabindranath Tagore to write poetry in the praise of Bhubaneshwar.
Population: Around 4,11,542 people live here
Climate: Bhubaneshwar is very pleasant throughout the year. It is better to avoid visiting this place in monsoons.
Best Time To Visit: October to March.
Places of Interest
Bindusagar Lake
Situated to the north of the Lingaraja temple is a lake called the Bindusagar lake adding grace to Bhubaneshwar and attracting many tourists. Once a year the Lingaraj temple deity is brought out for the ritual bath in the centre of the tank and it is believed a dip in the holy tank at Bindusagar washes away all the sins.
DhauliDhauli hill
Is on the bank of the river Daya, about 8 kms south of Bhubaneshwar. In the year 272 B.C., the Kalinga-Nippon-Buddha Sangha established a peace pagoda (Shanti Stupa) at Dhauli along with the construction of a monastery called Saddharma. "Ashoka the Great" transformed totally and changed his mind in favour of spiritual conquests.
Lingaraja Temple
It is dedicated to Lord Shiva and the Lingam here is unique which is a hari hara lingam -half Shiva and half Vishnu. The temple is about a thousand years old and dominates the skyline of Bhubaneshwar from as far as 15 kms. away and exhibits the skill of the Orissan temple architects.
Mukteswara Temple
This temple is often referred to as the "gem of Orissan Architecture" and has been built on the lines of the Kalinga School of temple architecture. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva - Mukteswara and is carved with figures of ascetics in various poses of meditation. A dip in a sacred well to the east of the temple is said to be a cure for infertility.
Nandankanan
Nandankanan literally means the 'Garden of Pleasure' or 'Garden of Gods'. It is in Chandaka forest, 25-kms from Bhubaneswar and is famed for its white tiger population. It houses a variety of mammals, reptiles and various species of birds. The zoo enjoys an excellent reputation internationally, for successfully breeding black panthers and gharial crocodiles.
Rajarani Temple
Rajarani temple got its name from a red- gold sand stone used, which is called Rajarani locally and the temple has no presiding deity. The temple has intricately carved figurines in various stages of daily chores.
The Orissa state
museum It houses a rich collection of sculptures, coins, copper plates, stone inscriptions, lithic and bronze age tools, rare manuscripts written on palm leaves, traditional and folk musical instruments. Rare epigraphic records are preserved in the Epigraphy Gallery.
Udaygiri and Khandagiri
These are the twin hills 7 kms. from Bhubaneshwar. The 135ft high Udaygiri and 118ft high Khandagiri hills have ancient caves. Khandagiri means "broken hill" and Udayagiri means "hill of the sunrise." The caves on the two low hills of Udayagiri and Khandagiri give ample proof of Jain and Buddhist occupation.
Excursion
Nandankanan
Known as the Garden of the Gods, it is a beautiful biological park 20 km from Bhubaneshwar established in 1960. Set amidst the heart of nature, it covers a vast expanse of the Chandaka forest where the flora and fauna flourish in their most natural habitat and environment.
Chilika - lake and wildlife
Well connected by road, it is easily accessible from either Bhubaneshwar or Puri. Relatively underdeveloped, its pristine beauty still unspoilt, it provides a refreshing break. Chilika - covering 1100 sq km is Asia's largest salt and fresh water lake and an ideal habitat for aquatic animals.
Atri
42 km from Bhubaneshwar Atri is a holy place famous for its sculptures and hot water springs. An excursion and a dip can be an enjoyable experience.
Puri
It's home to the world-famous Lord Jagannath temple and many other smaller temples. It is 6o km from Bhubaneshwar.
Konark
It is 60 km from Bhubaneshwar and is known for the magnificent Sun Temple, which also comes under the World Heritage List.
How to get there
Air:
There are regular Indian Airlines flights to Hyderabad, Nagpur, Calcutta, Delhi, Varanasi, Bombay and Madras. The airport is very close to town. If you have an early morning flight, it is a good idea to have your hotel arrange a taxi the night before and pay a little more to avoid the morning inconvenience of finding a taxi at that time. The Indian Airline office is on Raj Path, by the bus stand.
Rail:
Bhubaneswar is on the main Calcutta to Madras line so all the main trains stop here. The Howrah-Bangalore mail and Guwahati-Bangalore go to Bangalore. The Coromandel Express is a good train going to Madras. There are direct trains to Delhi, Agra, Remuna, and Varanasi. The Rajdhani Express departs from Delhi one day a week on Friday to Bhubaneswar. The Puri-New Delhi Express is a good train to Delhi.
Road:
The best way to get from Bhubaneswar to Puri is on one of the Canter minibuses that leave from the old bus station in the center of town, the new bus stand, and from the petrol station opposite the Ashok Hotel. They take a little more than an hour to get to Puri. There are also larger buses that go Puri, but they are slower than the minibuses. It is best to get an Express bus to Puri, which make only one stop en route. There is a direct bus to Konark too. If one misses out the direct bus, one can take a Puri buses to Pipli and from there get another bus to Konark.
Most of the long-distance buses depart from the new bus stand (Baramunda Bus Stand), which is about 5-km from downtown on the main road to Calcutta. There are buses to Calcutta, Cuttack (10 hr), and other places in Orissa. Buses to Puri also leave from this station.
