 Bhubaneswar
" The Temple City of India" |
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Temple city, capital of the state of Orissa and also of the
ancient kingdom, quintessence of the present and the past, the city's
bustling modernity reverberates with echoes of the past.
Approaching Bhubaneswar, by air, road or rail, one is impressed
with the magnificence of the three monuments that dominate its skyline.
These are the soaring spire of the Lingaraj Temple ,the white-domed Peace
Pagoda of Dhauli hill and the pink temple of Mahavir Jina on the Khandagiri
hill. The three epitomize the advent and ascendancy of Hinduism,
Buddhism and Jainism during different periods of Orissan history. |
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| ATTRACTIONS |
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The Impressive spire of the Lingaraj
Temple |
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Standing close to the hallowed site of the famous Kalinga
war, which turned the river Daya red with the blood of dead soldiers and
which finally converted Emperor Ashoka and brought him to the path of peace
and non-violence, Bhubaneswar has the earliest rock cut sculp-true of India
in the shape of a magnificent elephant atop the Ashokan rock edict which
immortalizes the famous historical event.
The cave complex of Udayagiri with the equally
famous inscriptions of Emperor Kharavela and exquisite sculptures of Emperor
Kharavela and exquisite sculptures and relief's on the rock surface of
the canvas and the colossal figure of Mahavir Jina on the Khandagiri hills
mark the high point of Orissa's ascendancy. |
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Santi Stupa at Dhauli Built after the bloodshed at
Kalinga |
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In the succeeding centuries , King after king
vied with each other in building temples during the golden period of Orissan
art and architecture. Bhubaneswar had a thousand temples at one time of
which many are still intact ad provide a complete record of the Kalinga
style of architecture from inception to maturity . of these, the magnificent
temple of Lord Lingaraj, also known as Bhubaneswar, literally the Lord of
the Universe, Soaring upto a height of about 54 meters, dominates the
skyline for kilometers around, Muktesswar , with its famous stone arch at
the entrance, known as the gem of Orissan architecture, is full of
sculptures on its outer walls, the more interesting of which are those
depicting the story of the monkey and the crocodile from the famous folk
tales of Panchatantra Which was written by Vishnu Sharma, the Orissan
Pandit. Parsurameswara temple close by has equally exquisite
carvings on its walls but is more famous for its latticed windows. Rajarani
( 11th century A.D ), |
The temple complex, is an
architectural mode by itself. The slender waisted life-size figures,
languorously poised, reflect the wealth of feminine charm - a sumptuous
feast for the visitor's eyes. Brahmeswar , a complete complex of temple
walls is a miniature version of the great Lingaraj. Unlike the latter this
is open to everyone, including foreigners , and is a must for those who wish
to get an idea of the Orissan temple style.
Bhubaneswar also has two very good museums, Centrally
located, the Orissa State Museum has a special charm of its own. It has a
rich collection of sculptures, coins, copper plates ,stone inscriptions, |
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The Udayagiri caves famous for ancient
inscriptions and sculptures
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| armory objects, rare palm leaf
manuscripts lithic and bronze age tools, natural history, geological
objects, paintings, anthropological specimens and traditional folk
and musical instruments . The Handicrafts Museum on Secretariat Foad has a
large collection of rich variety of Orissan handicrafts like stone
sculptures, patta paintings , brass castings, horn toys and silver filigree,
among others. |
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Tiger in the Nadankanan |
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NANDANKANAN ( 20 km )
Boo sphere Reserve, lion safari, white tiger safari and ropeway
Zoological Park
HIRAPUR (13 km )
Hypaethral temple of sixty-four Yoginis
PIPLI ( 20 km )
Home of applique work.
ATRI ( 42 km)
Hot spring and bathing complex.
Pathani Samant Planetarium , BDA Nicco park etc. |
| APPROACH |
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AIR - Bhubaneswar is connected by air with Boeing flights
to Delhi, kolkata, Visakhapatnam, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai.
RAIL - A major railhead on the S. E . Railway, it has fast and super
fast
train connections to Kolkata, Guwahati, Delhi , Chennai , Hyderabad, Mumbai,
Bangalore, Tiruvananthapuram and other major cities and towns of the
country.
ROAD - Being the state capital, on NH No.5, it is connected by all-weather
motor able roads within the state and sister states. |
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| ACCOMMODATION |
STD Code No. 0674 ; Country Code No. 00-91
Panthanivas of O.T.D.C (2432515/2432314), Hotel Anarkali ( 2504031 ) , Hotel
Rajmahal ( 2402448 )
Besides a number of other hotels, lodging house and dharma Salas are
available for low spending groups. |
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