Temples of Bhubaneswar Old Town-History & Heritage
During my short visit to Bhubaneswar, I had two visits to Bhubaneswar old town. Old town is the area where original Bhubaneswar was centered around. There are more than 300 different temples in this part of the town. On day 01 evening, a friend, Debarpita Mohapatra, who was fellow blogger with me during Tata Nano superdrive 2010, took me around and next day morning, I visited one more time to view the remaining important places.
Bhubaneswar's name originated from Tribhuvaneswar- meaning King of three worlds. The city has more than 300 temples, if you exclude smaller ones. One of the reason for these many temples, as per my friend Debarpita is because there was a school teaching in temple construction and lots of temples were built as a practice.
I will try to introduce you to some of the major temples in Bhubaneswar old town that I visited.
Lingaraj Temple- 11th century
The main temple in old town- No mobiles are allowed inside. Entry is free. There is a main tower some 180 feet tall and about 64 smaller shrines in the temple complex. Non-hindus are not allowed inside.
Luckily there's a viewpoint outside the temple complex, from where it is possible take a decent photo of Lingaraj temple complex. This viewing deck is reportedly built for non-hindus to get a view of the temple complex, but is useful for anyone looking to photograph the temple, since mobiles and cameras are not allowed inside.




Above: A shiva linga like structure near the herbal garden- a closer look through the hole gives view of the Lingaraja temple


Ashtashambu Shiva temple is on the other edge of Bindu Sagar.
Chitrakarini Temple
A small temple structure near Lingaraja temple
Some of the intricate carvings




Below-my new shirt- courtesy Utkalamrita of Sabat Exports.




Raja Rani Temple
Rs 25 entry fee applies. Located inside a nice little garden. There is no diety here, just a designer done.


A Nataraja Statue

Here's a map of all temples in Bhubaneswar Old town.


Refer this Wikipedia page for a more elaborate list. For more such historic places, you can also visit Tourist Secrets Asia Guide
Where to stay in Bhubaneswar: Swosti Grand * Swosti Premium
More temple posts: Konark Sun Temple * Wat Arun Bangkok * Aksharadham temple visit *
Reaching old town- from railway station area you can reach old town by share auto for Rs 20, or on Mobus for about Rs 8. It is about 4 kms from Railway Station/Swosti Grand. Of course you can take Ola or Uber.
Bhubaneswar's name originated from Tribhuvaneswar- meaning King of three worlds. The city has more than 300 temples, if you exclude smaller ones. One of the reason for these many temples, as per my friend Debarpita is because there was a school teaching in temple construction and lots of temples were built as a practice.
I will try to introduce you to some of the major temples in Bhubaneswar old town that I visited.
Lingaraj Temple- 11th century
The main temple in old town- No mobiles are allowed inside. Entry is free. There is a main tower some 180 feet tall and about 64 smaller shrines in the temple complex. Non-hindus are not allowed inside.
Luckily there's a viewpoint outside the temple complex, from where it is possible take a decent photo of Lingaraj temple complex. This viewing deck is reportedly built for non-hindus to get a view of the temple complex, but is useful for anyone looking to photograph the temple, since mobiles and cameras are not allowed inside.

More about Lingaraj temple here. Enroute to the Lingaraj temple stopped at this pond, with a small temple in the centre, with colourful decoration in night. This is the Bindu Sagar with a Brahma temple in the middle.
Herbal Garden or Ekamravan
A nice garden next to the lake. Rs 5 entry ticket applicable. Located on the banks of Bindu Sagar, a green venue to walk through and may be sit around for a while.


Above: A shiva linga like structure near the herbal garden- a closer look through the hole gives view of the Lingaraja temple


Ashtashambu Shiva temple is on the other edge of Bindu Sagar.
Chitrakarini Temple
A small temple structure near Lingaraja temple
Parasurameshwara Temple
Lots of lion head motifs here, apparently this is one of the temples where elephants are shown more dominating than lions. Lots of intricate carvings here.Some of the intricate carvings



Mukteshwar Temple and Someshwar temple
Small and compact but has an interesting arch up front with intricate carvings.

Below-my new shirt- courtesy Utkalamrita of Sabat Exports.




Raja Rani Temple
Rs 25 entry fee applies. Located inside a nice little garden. There is no diety here, just a designer done.


A Nataraja Statue

Here's a map of all temples in Bhubaneswar Old town.


Refer this Wikipedia page for a more elaborate list. For more such historic places, you can also visit Tourist Secrets Asia Guide
Where to stay in Bhubaneswar: Swosti Grand * Swosti Premium
More temple posts: Konark Sun Temple * Wat Arun Bangkok * Aksharadham temple visit *
Reaching old town- from railway station area you can reach old town by share auto for Rs 20, or on Mobus for about Rs 8. It is about 4 kms from Railway Station/Swosti Grand. Of course you can take Ola or Uber.
Good photos. I missed Lingaraja Temple during my last visit due to a board at its entrance which prohibited entry for non hindus. Mukteshwara was good except the greedy pundit there.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I didn't encounter any greedy priest.
DeleteWonderful pictures. Good to know about these beautiful temples in Bhubaneshwar.
ReplyDeleteThank you
DeleteAmazing Temples. Awesome pics.
ReplyDeleteNice to read.
Thank you
DeleteSome of these were beyond my knowledge , thanks for sharing so many info, did not know about the deck so was unable to take picture of Lingaraj temple.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. Next time you know!
DeleteAwesome temple image, Good to know about this beautiful temples.
ReplyDeleteThank you
DeleteGreat photographs and cool coverage of the temples.
ReplyDeleteWish you had stayed longer.
You need to visit again to see the other attractions and heritage sites of Bhubaneswar & Odisha.
Yes, will plan another visit asap
DeleteBeautiful Temple image.
ReplyDeleteThank you
Delete