INDIA the land of culture

  Pandit Gopabandhu Das was a freedom fighter, educationist, poet and social reformer. He championed the cause of statehood of Orissa (now Odisha) and fought to bring the Odia speaking people in the Madras, Bengal and Bihar states into one fold to secure their rights and privileges, earning him the title of ‘Utkalmani’ (Jewel of Utkal). On his birth anniversary on October 9,  Odisha Bytes  pays homage to this great son of the soil by highlighting 10 notable incidents from his life. While still in school, the inadequate response of authorities for cholera victims prompted him to start a voluntary corps Puri Seva Samiti. This movement later led to the establishment of a separate hospital for cholera patients at Puri, and made Gopabandhu’s name in society. He attended Ravenshaw College, Cuttack. During this period, he started Kartavya Bodhini Samiti (Duty Awakening Society) to encourage his friends to do their duty as citizens and take on social, economic and political problems. He was le

  DHAULI, ORISSA Locality/village  : Dhauli State  : Orissa Country  : India Nearest City/Town  : Bhubaneswar Best Season To Visit  : All Languages  : Odisa, Hindi& English Temple Timings  : 9.00 AM and 6.30 PM. Photography  : Not Allowed Dhauligiri, a hillside with another name as Dhauli located on the River Daya banks, is 8 km far from the south of Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Orissa. You can find splendid Edicts of Ashoka embossed on a mass of rock in Dhauli, beside the way to the hill summit. It is believed that Dhauli hill was the battlefield of the Kalinga War. The marvelous Shanti Stupa or Peace Pagoda is also located here. In the result of the bloodbath taken place in the Kalinga War, the water of the River Daya got red, making Ashoka understand the gloomiest side of a battle, turning him into the propagator of peace. Later, with his help, Dhauli became a major Buddhist centre, when he built several chaityas, stupas and pillars here. With the beautiful Daya River lying

PATALESVARA SHIVA TEMPLE, ORISSA Locality/village  : Bhubaneswar State  : Orissa Country  : India Nearest City/Town  : Bhubaneswar Best Season To Visit  : All Languages  : Odissa, Hindi & English Temple Timings  : 6.00 AM and 9.00 PM. Photography  : Not Allowed The Patalesvara Shiva Temple is a Hindu temple that is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is situated in the Old Town of Bhubaneswar. The temple’s architecture typically belongs to the 13th century Ganga era. The building material is composed of laterite and sandstone. TEMPLE HISTORY Thistemple is one of the oldest temples in Orissa that is being used even today. It is deep rooted in culture as it belongs to the Ganga Era, an era where culture and values went hand in hand. This temple is a group of other temples in its vicinity that has Lord Shiva as the main deity. It belongs to the Rekha deul typology and on the basis of its construction, on basis of which a temple is classified as a precinct, building, structure, landscape, site

PUSHPAGIRI MAHAVIHARA, ORISSA Locality/village  : Pushpagiri State  : Orissa Country  : India Nearest City/Town  : Bhubaneswar Best Season To Visit  : All Languages  : Odissa, Hindi & English Temple Timings  : 8.00 AM and 6.00 PM. Photography  : Not Allowed Pushpagiri , one of the earliest Buddhist viharas, was spread across Cuttack and Jajpur district, Odisha (ancient Kalinga) in the 3rd century CE flourished until the 11th century in India. Today, its ruins lie atop the Langudi hills, low hills about 90 km from the Mahanadi delta, in the Jajpur and Cuttack district in Odisha. The actual complex, spread across three hilltops, contained several stupas, monasteries, temples, and sculptures in the architectural style of the Gupta period. The Kelua River, a tributary of the Brahmani river of Odisha, which flows to the north east of Langudi hills, provided a picturesque background for the vihara. The entire vihara is distributed across three campuses on top of the three adjoining hills

  LINGARAJ TEMPLE, BHUBANESWAR Locality/village  : Bhubaneswar State  : Orissa Country  : India Best Season To Visit  : All Languages  : Hindi & English Temple Timings  : 6.00 AM and 10.00 PM. Photography  : Not Allowed The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, also known as ‘Lingaraj’. It is adorned with beautiful sculptures, which have been carved on the spire. Lingaraja temple is approximately 54.8 metres high and enshrines a huge statue of Lord Shiva, made up of granite. The idol is 8 feet in diameter and is placed on a platform that is about 8 inches above ground. The deity is bathed everyday with water, milk and bhang (marijuana) Lingaraj Temple is a temple of the Hindu God Shiva and is one of the oldest temples of the Temple City Bhubaneswar, a revered pilgrimage center and the capital of the state of Orissa. The temple is more than 1000 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

KONARK SUN TEMPLE Locality/village  : Konark State  : Odisha Country  : India Best Season To Visit  : All Languages  : Hindi & English Temple Timings  : 6.00 AM and 8.00 PM. Photography  : Not Allowed The Konark Sun Temple (also spelled Konarak) is a 13th-century Hindu temple dedicated to the sun god. Shaped like a giant chariot, the temple is known for the exquisite stone carvings that cover the entire structure. The Konark Sun Temple is the most popular tourist destination in Orissa and has been a World Heritage Site since 1984. It is located in the village of Konark, which is 35km north of Puri on the coast of the Bay of Bengal. The Sun Temple at Konarak was built in about 1250 AD by the East Ganga king Narasimhadeva. It is thought he built the temple to commemorate military successes against Muslim invaders. According to local legend, the temple has a great aura of power that comes from two very powerful magnets said to have been built into the tower – magnets that allowed the

  CHAR DHAM, LORD JAGANNATH, LORD VISHNU, ODISHA JAGANNATH TEMPLE, PURI Locality/village : Puri State : Odisha Country : India Nearest City/Town : Puri Best Season To Visit : All Languages : Hindi & English Temple Timings : 5.00 AM and 9.00 PM. Photography : Not Allowed The Jagannath Temple of Puri is a famous, sacred Hindu temple dedicated to Jagannath and located on the eastern coast of India, at Puri in the state of Odisha. The temple is an important pilgrimage destination for many Hindu traditions, particularly worshippers of god Krishna and god Vishnu, and part of the Char Dham pilgrimages that a Hindu is expected to make in one’s lifetime. Even though most Hindu deities that are worshiped are made out of stone or metal, the image of Jagannath is wooden. Every twelve or nineteen years these wooden figures are ceremoniously replaced by using sacred trees, that have to be carved as an exact replica. The reason behind this ceremonial tradition is the highly secret Navakalevara (‘