Journey to the City Of Temples [Bhubaneswar]
The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, it was the summer season and all the flowers were blooming .It was a Sunday.
We were in Odisha. A beautiful state, we were in Cuttack [formerly the capital of Odisha] and my mother’s hometown.
My mother suddenly got a very good idea. She said to me that did you know? Bhubaneswar is a city of temples. There are three hundred temples in Bhubaneswar. That idea struck me. I am so fond of temples. The thing which I like about temples is the carvings done by the people of those times and surprisingly, they did not use any known machine and made the sculptures and the carvings by hand. I am also fond of the temples because there is a history behind the temples and I want to know it.
So we got ready and were out from our house by 10 o’ clock. The journey began now. We got in our car and were on our way to see the temples. It takes one hour to reach Bhubaneswar and fifteen minutes to reach the Lingaraj temples. There was a narrow road and we had to pass it and then we can reach the highway to go to Bhubaneswar.
In Bhubaneswar people were very helpful and friendly too.
We finally reached the Lingaraj Temple by half past eleven. I was so fascinated by the carvings that I took almost all the pictures of the carvings. Lingaraj Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Harihara, a form of Shiva and is one of the oldest temples of Bhubaneswar. The temple is the most prominent landmark of the city of Bhubaneswar and one of the major tourist attractions of the state. The central tower of the temple is 180 feet (55 m) tall. The temple represents one of the Kalinga Architecture and culminating the medieval stages of the architectural tradition at Bhubaneswar. The temple is believed to be built by the kings from the Somavamsi dynasty, with later additions from the Ganga rulers. The Lingaraja temple was very huge. We then moved to Khandagiri and Udaygiri caves after lunch. We reached Khandagiri and Udaygiri caves at 3 o’ clock. Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves are partly natural and partly artificial caves they are of great archaeological, historical and religious importance near the city of Bhubaneswar in Orissa, India. The caves are situated on two adjacent hills, Udayagiri and Khandagiri, mentioned as Kumari Parvat in the Hathigumpha inscription. They have a number of finely and ornately carved caves.
The Essay on About Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar /ˌbʊvəˈneɪʃwər/, also spelled Bhubaneshwar (Bhubanēsbara pronunciation (help•info)), is the capital of the Indian state of Orissa, officially spelled Odisha. The city has a history of over 3000 years starting with the Mahamegha-bahana Chedi dynasty (around 2nd century BCE) who had Sisupalgarh near present-day Bhubaneswar as their capital. Bhubaneswar has been known by names such as ...
It is believed that most of these caves were carved out as residential blocks for Jain monks during the reign of King Kharavela. Udayagiri means “Sunrise Hill” and has eighteen caves while Khandagiri has fifteen caves. I liked the history and the architecture, the carvings are fascinating. It was very mesmerising. Next stop in our journey was the Dhaulagiri temple. Lord Buddha used to preach here. His preaching’s been so strong that King Ashoka renounced war and embraced Buddhism. Situated on the banks of the Daya River and at about eight kilometres from Bhubaneshwar, Dhauli is the place where the gory Kalinga war was fought in 261 B.C. Today, Dhauli doesn’t look gory at all. Instead, it is a picture of greenery, peace and serenity. The Peace Pagoda built by the Japanese Buddhist Sangha stands tall on a hill and overlooks the entire Dhauli plain. This peace pagoda houses various statues of Lord Buddha and visually depicts stories of the Kalinga War and King Ashoka’s conversion to Buddhism. Dhauli hill has major edicts of King Ashoka engraved on a mass of rock, by the side of the road leading to the summit of the hill. We spent some time around the temple and then when it was evening, we saw the sunset and it was the one of the most beautiful sights that I have ever seen.
And the last stop for our temple journey was the Mukteshwar temple. Mukteswar Temple — An important landmark to the architectural development in Odisha, the Mukteswar Temple is often described as one of the jewels of Orissa for its exquisite sculptures and elegant looks. The plan is now a full-fledged five sectioned form, pancharatha and the platform or the pabhaga consists of five mouldings, as in latter temples. The element still common with early temples, like Parasuramesvara and Vaital Deul, is the tryangabada, three-fold horizontal division of the lower story. The new, more elaborate style has absence of dopichha lions, squat figures supporting the amla, the recessed sections but now rounded sharp edges and corners got predominant. The Jagamohana of this late 10th century temple is now a pidha deul with decorated ceiling, carved into a lotus with eight petals. The change in iconography is equally noticeable with Ketu introduced as the 9th planet, the association Karttikeya with the peacock and the appearance of the mouse as the mount of Ganesha. The diamond shaped latticed windows in the North and South walls of Jagamohana depict enchanting scenes of frolicking monkeys. The chaitya-windows carved on the sanctuary tower show an arresting ornamental design, bho, a motif-the grinning face of a lion with beaded tassels emerging from its mouth, flanked by two dwarves, the pattern resembling a coat of arms. It was an amazing sight. The temple search was over today, but, Orissa is also a modern state, there is a very famous zoo, many malls and many waterparks and one of them being the Nandankanan zoological park.
The Term Paper on Melbourne Zoo And Sovereign Hill
Melbourne Zoo and Sovereign Hill The only place you can now see a performing animal is at a zoo. Why then, have we paid to go there? To go to the zoo is to be forced into thinking about the oddness of our relationship with animals. The trouble with the zoo as conservation project, it must be said, is that there are far fewer animals around, and they are in enclosures where you cannot easily see ...
Nandankanan Zoological Park is a 400-hectare (990-acre) zoo and botanical garden in Bhubaneswar. Established in 1960, it was opened to the public in 1979 and became the first zoo in India to join World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) in 2009. It also contains a botanical garden and part of it has been declared a sanctuary. Nandankanan, literally meaning The Garden of Heavens, is located near the capital city, Bhubaneswar. There are many endangered animals in the zoo.
Aquaria
The zoo includes thirty four aquariums which are home to a large variety of fresh water fish.
Reptile Park
The Reptile Park’s cave-like entrance is guarded by a life size Tyrannosaurus Rex. This houses numerous species of crocodiles, lizards, turtles, and snakes.
Orchid house
The zoo has the largest Orchid House of Odisha spread over 5,000 square feet. In Odisha alone, 130 species of orchids have been documented to date.
The Essay on Kings Park Psychiatric Center
The Kings Park Psychiatric Center has had a large effect on the social changes of Long Island. A small town grew larger and prosperous from the direct effect of this State hospital from the time of 1885 to the present. The history of the town, the patients and court cases held, and the concluding plans for the land after its closing have all had a significant mark on the social changes of the ...
Inside the Nandankanan we saw these parks and visited them.
After seeing white tigers, crocodiles, snakes, alligators, pythons, huge anacondas and various other animals, our big day came to an end.
Thus, our journey through the city of temples came to an end but, I think there is still more to explore and I will look forward to again visit this place and all of the major places in Odisha. So, my journey continues….