Odhisha Odyssey (Part 2)

  Around Puri and Konark 

Places covered : Puri Temple, Konark Sun temple and Chilka lake

Kalinga style of architectural form of Odisha found its supreme expression in the form of temples, some of which are among, finest in the country. Of these, three most famous temples are the Lingaraja temple at Bhubaneswar (11th century), the Jagannath Temple at Puri (12th century) and the great Sun Temple at Konark (13th century). 

Jagannath Temple in Puri, Odisha 

Jagannath Temple in Puri, Odisha  is one of four dhams for Hindu pilgrimage. Known as the White Pagoda,this temple enshrines deities of Krishna, Subhadra and Balarama. One need to take a special ticket from counter for entering inside .The temple has 4 gates, facing the 4 directions. On the east-facing gate, there are stone images of 2 lions and it is called the Lion Gate. The north, south and west facing gates are called the Elephant Gate, Horse Gate and the Tiger Gate respectively. As we arrive at the vast open area in front of the Lion Gate, we see a ten meter tall monolithic pillar known as Aruna Stambha, this pillar was removed from Konark when the temple was forsaken and fixed in front of Jagannath temple. Immediately after we get into the main gate and go forward, we find a flight of steps. They are locally called Baisi Pahaca, literally meaning, 22 steps. At the end of the stairs, we have to cross another gate that enters a second compound wall and then we have to turn left to go towards the Ganesh temple. There are attractive carvings on the sides of this entrance of the inner compound wall. 

left pic -priest climbing the temple Gopura during Dwaja parivarthana 

We had a quick darshan of the deities inside the temple in the evening at about 4.30pm without any disturbance from any Pandas, in fact one of the Panda bought dry  Prasadm for Rs 200. Here  devotees can go behind the idols(go round the idols)during the Sahana Mela . There are 3 main shrines inside the premises (i) Vimala temple (ii) Ganesh temple at the foot of the Kalpavata (a very old banyan tree) and (iii) Lakshmi temple. The Vimala Temple (Bimala Temple) is considered one of the most important of the Shaktipeeths  where the Goddess Sati's feet fell. It is located near Rohini Kund in the temple complex. Outside the Girbhagriha, pilgrims  were waiting to see the Flag changing ritual by the priest , we too waited for half hour. Our driver (also our Guide) told us a panda climbs up the sheer face of the temple and bring down the old flags and put up the new ones is a sight to be witnessed.Later we came to know that the Dwaja Parivartna ceremony was over when we were inside the temple. We were out within a hour feeling enchanted  to see  Lord Jagannath. That night we stayed in a Hotel located near to Puri Beach. 

Konark Sun Temple

The drive between Bhubaneswar and Konark is lovely with good roads and country side. It takes about an hour to reach Konark from Bhubaneswar. Standing in front of this magnificent  was a dream come true,we immediately engaged a guide to know everything about the temple

The Sun temple of Konark widely known for its fine harmony of design and architecture, its name is a clubbing of Kona (corner) and Arka (Sun), meaning the corner of the Sun.Ancient Sailors had named it as “ Black Pagoda” because of its dark color ,but was dubbed as the cause of ship wrecks that occurred along the coast.There are many speculations regarding the fall of the temple. It is said that a massive magnet  placed at the temple top had created an architectural marvel of Lord Surya’s idol to float  in air .The sailors  took away the magnet which was integral part of the temple thus disturbing the stability of the structure. Other reason held for destruction is earthquake 

Guide narrated this legend as to “ Why the  Sun God does not get worshipped in the epic temple built for him” .The story goes back to 13th century A.D. , when 1200 WORKERS worked for 12 years to build the KONARK TEMPLE  spread across 12 acre on the command of the King Narasimhadeva-1 of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty. The chief architect Bisu Maharana had a deadline to finish the temple in 12 years, finally failed to host the crown stone His son Dharmpada a 12  years boy whom he never saw since birth because he was busy with temple work visited the spot to see Dad's achievement,overhears the conversation of craftsmen , that they will be beheaded in case they fail to meet the deadline.  Right from his childhood Dharmapada was interested in architecture and mastered all the manuscripts regarding temple construction. The small boy suggests a solution ,by midnight the kalash stone is rolled to the top of the Gopura. Dharmapada hears whispers that king will still not be kind with his father and other hardworking craftsmen,next day at sunrise ,he jumps off the the Temple top into the blue sea waters.

Main attractions of the temple :

1.Natya Mandir is the first part of the temple.Every inch of the mandapa is filled with sculptures of women – dancing, singing, playing instruments, dressing up.

One such pillar at Natya mandap

 2.The Konark Sun Temple takes the form of a huge chariot for the sun god Surya, with 12 pairs of stone-carved wheels and a team of seven galloping horses (only one of which survives intact).

 

3.The wheels have 8 spokes that symbolize the eight ideal stages of a woman's day. One can analyze the exact time of the day by just looking at the shade cast by these spokes.

4.The entrance is guarded by 2 huge lions ,Each lion is crushing an elephant. Beneath every elephant lies the human body. Lion represents pride and elephant represents money. Problems faced by human beings shown in one shot. 

5.Indian architecture depicts the following - Lord, Time, Karma, Living Entities and Nature. There are images of animals, foliage, men, warriors on horses and other interesting patterns. 

Wheel of life or Passage of time

6.Kalinga wanted to promote growth in polpulation. There are erotic sculptures on the second level of the temple.

7.There are three images of the Sun God, positioned to catch the rays of the sun at dawn, noon and sunset. 

The temple is a UNESCO World heritage site  ,restoration work is going on.

Reference: https://highwayonlyway.com/tag/konark-sun-temple/

Chilka lake

Boat boarding point

 Chilika is a very beautiful lagoon about 2 hours drive from Bhubhaneshwar. At the boat boarding point, there is parking facility and one has  to hire a boat. We took the 3 hour speed boat ride  for Rs 2000, ordered food in the restaurant(quite expensive). Now I feel the fares are steep and manipulated by the boat owners. One can enjoy the calm nature  and cool breeze and I advise one should carry drinking  water and biscuits  and cover the  kids . Dolphins and few birds can be spotted on the way to the island. After an hour or so we reached an island,we called our son, BSNL Telecom signals were very clear. Fishermen approach with sea shells claiming that they carry  pearls, gems etc, should not buy them. Return journey seemed to be long because of the headache I got, could not eat anything from the restaurant, our driver sensed it as a gastric problem purchased tablets for me.  Within a hour I was fit for Puri Jaganath Darshan

Kalikamba temple

Odhisha Odyssey (Part 1)

In and around Bhubhaneshwar 

It was still the wee hours of morning during January 21st 2016 when we landed at Biju Patnaik Airport , Bhubaneswar ,one hour flight journey from Vishakpatnam. Our destinies were directed towards Puri - a holy city situated on the east coast of India, also a part of Hindu Chardham yatra .It is not just the religious passion alone that forced this tour,but desire to explore new place, traditions and landmarks. We only knew that Odhisha  is a culturally rich state with glorious history, temple architecture  and  enjoyed a secured place among women's wardrobe for its ethnic Ikkat silk sarees. The cab driver whom we hired from “Cars on rental” to drive us to Hotel Urmee, turned to be friendly, offered his service to take us round for the 3 days.  He suggested an itinerary to cover Golden triangle circuit consisting of Bhubhaneshwar , Konark  and Puri with Chilka lake. His promise to accompany us to Puri Temple was itself an icing on the cake to our enthusiastic venture.

First place to visit in Bhubaneswar-Puri trip was Rajarani temple situated at old Bhubaneswar near Tankapani Road. Rajarani temple derives its name due to the employment of dull red and turbid yellow sandstone locally called "Rajarani".It is famous for its sculpted figures and the successive tiers of projections rising to form  18 m tower.  This temple has no idols as such. Dance, Life and some very personal moments of life similar to Khajuraho  mithun shilpas are depicted in the form of carvings around the temple .The best preserved sculpture of the temple are the standing astadikpalas on the central façade of kanika .

Successive tiers of projections all around the temple to form a 18m tower

Shilabalikes

Ashtadikpala -Kubera

Ashtadikpala-Indra

                               The image of Indra is intact and notable for its body ornamentation, coiffure and facial expression. Scenes of marriage of lord Shiva, lord Nataraja, goddess Parvati are the cult images present in the temple. There are tall slender sophisticated Shila balikes gracing the walls of the sanctum depicted in various roles and moods in passionate actions such fondling her child, holding a branch of tree, attending to her toilet, looking into mirror, taking off her anklet, caressing her pet bird and playing instrument. . The Government tourist  guide gave information about architecture  and historical connections. He knew the basics and the important elementary facts about the temple architecture and spoke in a very good English .

Rajarani temple as venue during annual dance festival in January 2016

Every year Rajarani Music Festival is organised by the Department of Tourism in the Rajarani Temple complex in Bhubaneshwar, we missed it by a day.
Lingaraj Temple :The temple dedicated to Harihara, a combined deity form of Lord Vishnu and Shiva, is one of the major tourist attractions of the city. The central tower of Lingaraj Temple stands at a height of 180 feet and the temple complex contains 50 other shrines. Pandas/Priests at the entry approach for offering puja but we did not avail their service. There were only few people inside, we performed pooja here and poojari gave us a silver bilwapatra.
Around the vicinity of the shrine, there are other temples of different gods and goddess.

Bindusagar lake with Lingraj temple in the background

Muktheshwar temple:  The "torana" (arched gateway) is the first attraction of this temple. It is really  the Gem of Odisha architecture. It is a nice place for both worship and leisure. The temple faces west and is constructed in a lower basement amidst a group of temples. The temple is a small one compared to other larger temples in Bhubaneswar. The temples is enclosed within an octagonal compound wall with elaborate carvings on it.

Mukteshwar temple with arched gateway

Dhauli Shanthi stupa : Dhauli believed to be the battleground of Kalinga war is a hillside lying on the banks of river Daya just 8km from Bhubhaneshwar.  Kalinga war that took place in 261B.C had lot of implications on Emperor Ashoka’s mind ,completely transformed his thoughts and soul after which he embraced Buddhism. It is said River Daya had completely turned red due to the blood of dying soldiers from both sides of Magadha and Kalinga kingdom. This is the site of the Vishwa Shanti Stupa built by Japan Buddha Sangha and Kalinga Nippon Buddha Sangha. After offering our obeisance to Lord Buddha, we had an aerial view of Daya River

Daya river that bore the brunt of Kalinga war

Dhauli Vishwashanthi stupa

Lord Buddha in different postures  

Nandankanan Zoological Park is located 20 kms ahead of the capital city Bhubaneswar in Orissa. It has aquarium, zoo, safari and boating opportunity. This Zoo is well maintained and variety of animals, reptiles, birds are kept here. Here we took the services of a guide , initially took us around  the zoo and  accompanied with us to tiger,lion and bear safari .The attraction to me was the  royal Bengal tiger. Electric Battery operated car (privilege at the cost of waiting time )is also available for those who want a quick zoom through the park.

Nanda Kannan Zoological park 

Royal Bengal Tiger 

Just outside Bhubaneshwar ,on top of the hill are Udayagiri and Khandagiri vaves. These are the twin hills of Kumargiri and contain varieties of rock-cut caves, built mainly for the Jain monks around 1st - 2nd century B.C. These are old caves partly natural and partly structured  built as residences for Jain monks. You need to climb a few steps to reach to caves. Most of the caves consist of rows of cells having opening towards the common verandas or open space. The doorways have attractive carvings of animals, creepers and flowers. Climb is steep place may be hot during summer season.
 On Kandhagiri hill you can also visit beautiful Jain temple and can enjoy beautiful view of the city. Be careful of monkeys as they are large in numbers. Udaygiri caves can be best seen from Kandhagiri hill. You may take guide for better appreciation of the caves. From the top – one can get nice views of the city. Our driver told  us that few  scenes of  Shahrukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor starrer Asoka was shot  amidst this magnificent setting of caves and last scene at Dhauli.

Udaygiri caves as seen from road

Jain temple on hillock of Khandagiri

View of Udayagiri from Khandgiri

 Afternoon we used to have authentic South Indian cuisine at Idli bhavan  Bhubaneswar (located towards infocity) cooked through an experienced cooking team from Chennai's best restaurants. The city is an amalgamation of South Indian and East Indian cultures, one can converse in Hindi with locals .Evenings were spent shopping at Boyanika and Utkalika for Ikkat sarees, purchasing silver jewellery at Lalchand jewellers.

Uttarakhand Chardham Tour (Part 6)

Day 9  Badrinath to Haridwar

Left  Badrinath early morning at 5.30 ,had a final look at  the beauty of the snow clad mountain peaks before boarding the mini bus.Throughout the journey from Haridwar(from Day 1),we had carried a case of mineral water bottles, some snacks, rice, noodles packets and a stove, so that in case we encounter a landslide during transit we could  help ourselves.  The journey between Badri and  Joshimath was really a scary experience the mountains were so steep and it’s a one way road. Along  the way, loose boulders, cleaned up debris, stand alone or working  bull dozers are a common sight. Our Driver was sportively mumbling “Agar dada girega, baap,par dada aur beta bi girega” i.e  due to loose nature of mountain slopes ,even if a small boulder becomes loose, the entire support system collapses. Vikram Singh is a master of Chardham route, calm and skillful driver. Under his steering skills we did not have a pinch of stalling problem anywhere ,weather was to our side.

Road from Badrinathji to Joshimuth

We had south Indian breakfast on the way (don't remember the place), stopped for lunch at Shrinagar. A long drive of 320km for  10 hours travel, along River Ganga ,her tributaries and confluences stretching over mountains and valleys took us to a different wonderland. We crossed Vishnu prayag that lies at the confluence of Alaknanda River and Dhauliganga River, Karnaprayag which is the confluence of Alaknananda and Pindar rivers and Nandaprayag, the confluence of Alaknananda and Mandakini rivers. Vishnuprayag Hydro Electricity Project owned by Jaypee Industries  around 12 km is located at Hanuman Chatti near Vishnuprayag.

Nandprayag

Karnaprayag

Beauty of moving clouds over mountains

Largely, owing to good roads after Joshimuth and timely water-breaks (as weather gets hotter as we reach plains) our journey went on smoothly till Rishikesh. After Rishikesh ,a long traffic hold-up can cause a unwanted halt for hours for the otherwise half an hour journey to Haridwar. It was Sunday evening, roads were full of jeeps carrying boats on roof with tourists for water rafting. Reached Kashi mutt ,Haridwar at 6.00p.m one cannot do away with A/C accommodation  during May –June due to sultry weather. The premises draws pilgrims  to its   river Ganges Ghat (there is pretty privacy here) and   temple of  Sage Vedvyasji .Soon after settling ,we headed to the Ghat. The Gardens  and vegetation in the Mutt premises is a sight to behold.. In contrast to the heat wave, the flowing water is very cold and the scene is  serene to eyes. After the arti at 8.00pm ,dinner is served ,the specialty  is, it is prepared from the mutt grown organic vegetables and milk from  mutt reared cows..

Shree Vyasa Mandir at Haridwar 

Sree Vyasa Mandir

Day 10  Haridwar 

Ganga Ghat

Next morning, three of our tour members (Baliga couple and Chennakeshav)left to Mangalore ,we 5 members(Prakash Shenoy, Guru and Balanna Gowda ) hired a car to visit the  most talked about  Baba Ramdev’s Pathanjali Vidyapeet . This is about 20 km from Haridwar at Kankhal and about 15 km from Roorkee . Various facilities such as Yoga Classes, Natural health therapies, Ayurvedic treatments, OPD are available in this Yoga institutes.  Patients suffering  for long term disease can undergo treatment in the hospital.Anyone can visit and stay at Patanjali Yog peeth and avail these facilities in a very hygienic, clean and well maintained environment. Food is expensive and the service at the food counters is very slow.  Waited long to  grab our order of  rose petal drink and  dosas. There are 2 campuses I and II.
Way back, visited Daksha Mahadev temple a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, located in the town of Kankhal, about 4 km from Haridwar. The temple has been tastefully and beautifully decorated and view from outside and inside is very excellent  According to mythological story Sati, Lord Shiva 's first wife, burnt herself in the yagya kund. On the way back to mutt purchased litchis and plums .

Crowd  at Har-ki-Pauri to watch Ganga arti

Shree Ganga Mandir at Har-ki-Paudi

Diya for Ganga Maa at Har ki pauri

The evening was spent absorbing the sight and sounds of Har-Ki-Pauri and participating in the Ganga aarti. Small baskets with flowers with a diya  to light can be bought from vendors (priest ), he chanted mantra  and asked us  to place it into the Ganges . The sight of the flickering diyas on the water is beautiful. Crowd gathering is too much here and no vehicles except cycle rickshaws are allowed to the site. Night at the mutt, we met other members of our troupe Mrs Saraswathi Kamat her parents and Haryani friend , they had visited Mansadevi and Chandidevi temples.

Day 11 Haridwar-Dehradun- Mangalore

Wonderful moments on the lap of Himalayas had drawn to close. Early morning packed with bags, fruits, memories we bid good –bye to our friends to Dehradun airport. Our last breakfast at UK turned to be Onion paratha with dollops of butter, sans butter the paratha appears dry, we had both.  Stuffed parathas actually make for a very filling meal. Back home at Mangalore we were in the midst of rainy season , as we flew through dark monsoon clouds,we prayed for safe landing .Previous day Mangalore inbound flights were diverted due to bad weather and lack of visibility. Safely  landed  at 7.30 p.m,  Dr. Krishna Prabhu, Dilip and Aparna picked us ,had a sumptuous dinner prepared by Sujatha that night.

 It took total 9 nights and 10 days to cover the chardham circuit from Haridwar. We did not encounter any rain throughout the tour and the climate was pleasant, except  Haridwar ‘s  sweltering hot day .

Now back at our routine we impatiently await our next magical holiday.

Uttarakhand Chardham Tour (Part 5)

Kedarnath to Badrinath (Day 7)

After returning from the mystical and magical Kedarnath mountains, shrine of Babha Kedarnathji , we were all feeling blessed and  happy.The point that we could make it without helicopter ride enthralled the confidence in ourselves,the tough,long and tiring down-trek was worth the bliss.Now we were set for another journey day towards Badrinath.

Early morning we headed towards Triyuginarayan Temple  situated  14 km from Sonprayag, known as the  place where Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati Devi married under the mediation of  Lord Vishnu. Akhand Agni kund is still there, we  put one piece of wood from our side. Knowledgeable Purohits will attend you and explain the details of  Hindu methodology.Place is surrounded by ice capped Himalayas and is very peaceful location, having zero pollution and almost zero commercial activities place. 

Triyuginarayan Temple (See the fumes from the Akhand Agni kund)

Akhand Agni kund 

Another pleasant and picturesque hill town, 41 km from Rudraprayag is Ukhimuth, also a piligrim centre where the Utsav murthy of Kedarnathji is brought down on the 2nd day of Deepawali and worshipped for 6 months during winter when Kedarnath becomes snow capped .In the Omkareshwar temple complex there are other  artistic ancient temples dedicated to  Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvati, Aniruddha ,Usha and Mandhata. Ukhimath is mainly inhabited by the Rawals from Karnataka  who are the head priests (pundits) of Kedarnath. Boards in kannada can be spotted here. Snow capped peaks of the splendid Himalayan range are distinctly visible from Ukhimath. From Ukhimath on a clear day one can see the beautiful view of Kedarnath peak, Chaukhamba & other green beautiful valley.

Ukhimuth Temple-Utsav murthy of Baba Kedarnathji is worshipped during winter

Inside the Ukhimuth temple premises

Enroute to Badri on the Ukhimut -Gopeshwar highway  is an  unspoiled natural destination , Chopta  popular as Mini Switzerland ,the ultimate destination for trekkers ,slowly attracting attention of travellers as a hill station. Our lunch was a bowl of Maggie Noodles and a bottle of Amul buttermilk( very recent batch). I was surprised not to find Pathanjali products anywhere even in remote corners of Uttarkhand.

The challenge is manoeuvring the roads to get to Badrinath as the journey passes through lofty terrain  curves, cliff and waterfalls , landslides seem to be common in this area.Traces of loose boulders on the ground, pulverized rocks ,viscous stones, parked as well as working bull dozers say lot about the frequently occurring hill disturbances and efforts taken to clear the debris for passing of vehicles . Thanks to the maintenance work by Border Roads Organisation , roads were clear, and  divine blessings, luckily  no  natural interruptions , we reached Badri at about 6.00p.m.

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 Accommodation was arranged at Kashi mutt very close to Badrinathji temple. After  sipping tea, we  made a quick visit to Badri Vishal Temple .The temple complex sports very colorful look with enchanting Alaknanda River flowing in front of the temple. That night platter of dal, subji, chapathi was arranged at Kashi Mutt. Night was very cold

Sree Badrinarayan Temple on the Banks of River Alakananda

Badrinath –Mana  Day 8
 The early morning at 5.10 am was a visual treat to witness the golden hue blazing Neelkant Parvath when the first rays of sun flashed on the mountain for  10 minutes.

Neelkanth parvath during sunrise

 After quick grabbing of south Indian breakfast  we proceeded to Mana. An additional attraction for Chardham pilgrims is this  tiny hamlet on the Indo-Tibetian border (24km from Badrinath) that  has connection with Mahabharatha legends.

With our team mates 

Approach to Ganesha gufa

Last Indian shop -tea stall

 Saraswati river gushes in all her glory in between rocks flows through the village. In fact, Maana is supposed to be the only place in India where this river flows above ground level (the other being a small village in Nepal). It is on the banks of this river, in a cave “ Vyas gufa “sage Vyasa recited the Mahabharatha and Lord Ganesha penned it.  There is Ganesh Gufa, Bheem pool, Swargarahona where Pandavas left to heaven. We sipped basil tea at the last Indian shop ,it tasted more of herbs. Once again visited Badri Vishal temple, collected the oil used in lighting diya ,did some shopping for souvenirs and sweaters. At mutt we met other fellow piligrims from Udupi. Had our dinner and hopped on to our bed for a sound sleep in the shivering cold.