Parasurameswara Temple

Parasurameswara Temple Review

Built in AD 650, this small and short Shiva temple near Bindu Sagar is the oldest temple in Bhubaneswar. It's a perfect and well-preserved example of the pre-10th-century Orissan style: a high spire that curves up to a point over the deul, or sanctum that houses the deity, and a pyramid-covered jagamohan where people sit and pray. The deul and jagamohan, two distinct features of this style of temple architecture, were seen in all Orissa temples after this. The facade is covered with exquisitely chiseled carvings, including one of Ganesh, the elephant god of wisdom and prosperity, that have outlasted damage from weather or invaders. Built about 200 years after a largely Buddhist Orissa had adopted Hinduism with new vigor, the temple asserts its symbols of Hinduism proudly.