Lingaraj Temple, Bhubaneswar

Lingaraj Temple, Bhubaneswar

Lingaraj Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Harihara, another name for Shiva and is one of the oldest temples of Bhubaneswar, a revered pilgrimage center and the capital of the state of Orissa, India.

The temple of Lingaraja, the biggest of all at Bhubaneswar, is located within a spacious compound wall of laterite measuring 520 feet by 465 feet. The wall is 7 feet 6 inches thick and surmounted by a plain slant coping. Alongside the inner face of the boundary wall there runs a terrace probably meant to protect the compound wall against outside aggression.

As observed by Ramesh Prasad Mohapatra, the temple of Lingaraja is by far the most notable monument of Bhubaneswar. Rising to a height of about one hundred and eighty feet and dominating the entire landscape it represents the quintessence of the Kalinga Architecture and the culminating result of the architectural tradition at Bhubaneswar

Lingaraj Temple

Lingaraaj means The king of Lingam, the symbol of Shaivism. Shiva is here worshipped as Tribhuvaneshwara (Master of three worlds, i.e. Heaven, Earth and Netherworld). His consort is called Bhuvaneshvari.

The temple is more than 1100 years old, dating back in its present form to the last decade of the eleventh century, though there is evidence that parts of the temple have been there since sixth century CE as the temple has been emphasized in some of the seventh century Sanskrit texts. This is testimony to its sanctity and importance as a Shiva shrine. By the time the Lingaraj temple was constructed, the Jagannath(form of Vishnu) cult had been growing, which historians believe is evidenced by the co-existence of Vishnu and Shiva worship at the temple.