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Jagannath Temple is one of the most renowned as well as the biggest temples of Orissa. Established during the 12th century, the temple is dedicated to Lord Jagannath (Lord Krishna), Lord of the Universe. The credit for laying the foundation of the Jagannath temple of Puri goes to Raja Ananta Varman Chodaganga Dev |
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The 11th century temple dominates the Bhubaneswar skyline. It marks the most mature aspects of architectural development. It receives huge throngs of devotees everyday, and is closed to non-Hindus. The curvilinear deul is over 180 ft in height. In addition to the highly developed jagmohun the Lingaraja has two new features, thenatyamandir to mark the growing acceptance of the devdasi system and the bhoga mandapa or the hall of offerings. In the inner sanctum is the Svayambhu Linga, reflecting Lord Shiva as hari-hara or half Shiva and half Vishnu. Over 150 subsidiary shrines punctuate the complex |
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Dhauli is the site of the bloody battle of Kalinga after which the
Emperor Ashoka converted to Buddhism. The compassionate inscriptions on
the rock cut edict at Dhauli dating to 260 BC is the first historically
documented piece of evidence of Emperor Ashoka's conversion to
non-violence. The edict is remarkably well preserved and terminates in
a sculpted elephant, universally symbolising the Buddha. On the
opposite hill is the Shanti Stupa commissioned by an Indo-Japanese
collaboration. |
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King Kharavela ruled Odisha in the second half of the 1st century BC. A
staunch patron of the Jain faith the king commissioned the fantastic
rock-cut caves on the twin hills of Khandagiri and Udaygiri. These cave
monasteries for the Jain monks, marked by a lively folk element in the
elaborate carvings, are quite well preserved. Khandagiri has 15 caves
and Udaygiri has 18. Udaygiri's most famous caves are the Rani Gumpha
and the Hathi Gumpha. The first is huge and has two floors, a courtyard
and elaborately carved friezes. It also features aspects of Oddisi,
Orissa’s classical dance form. The Hathi Gumpha documents the military
exploits and other aspects of King Kharavaela's reign. |
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Sun temple is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Konark.
The credit for constructing this 13th century old shrine, dedicated to
Sun God, goes to Raja Narsimhadeva of the Ganga dynasty. Konark Sun
Temple has been built in the form of a gigantic chariot that has 24
wheels. |
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Chilika is a largest brackish water lagoon in India and supports a wide assemblage of marine, brackish and freshwater flora and fauna. The beauty of the lagoon has inspired poets and thinkers which is quite evident in the poems written by Pandit Godavarish Mishra and Radhanath Roy describing the beauty of Chilika. Chilika is an integral part of culture of coastal Orissa. . It was one of the outlets of maritime trade through which the traders of Orissa used to sail for South-east Asian countries like Java, Sumatra and Bali. Manikpatna happened to be the port for quite some time |