Parasurameswara temple dedicated to lord Shiva is located at Bhubaneswar in Orissa. It is one of the oldest temples in the state and is known for its architectural beauty. This temple is the earliest example of Orissa Temple Architecture. Although the temple is believed to be built in the post Buddhist period in the 7th century it is still in a good state of preservation. In fact is the best preserved architectural wonder in the state.
About Parasurameswara Temple
The temple was developed in 650 AD and built in the Kalinga style of temple architecture. This is a small temple with some exquisite carvings and sculptures. The temple features a ‘deul’ and a porch in front of the tower ‘Jagamohana’ -two distinct features which indicate an early date of construction. The duel is about 13 m high. It has no platform and is triratha on plan while the Jagamohana instead of a stepped pyramid, is a rectangular structure with a terraced roof, sloping in two stages. The Jagamohana has an additional doorway on the South and has four latticed windows, one each on the North and South and two on the West. The windows of the temple have exquisite bas-relief of horses and elephant processions and lattice work.
The rectangular niches running around the base of the porch contain images of diverse deities. The main entrance to Jagamohana also has a fine carving of domestic elephants capturing wild ones. The walls and the outer sanctum the temple are adorned with exquisite sculptures of animals and birds, amorous couples, floral designs, beautifully carved Hindu Gods etc. The outer wall of the temple has carvings of Lord Ganesh, Karttikeya and scene depicting the marriage of Shiva and Parvati. There are also several striking carvings depicting Puranic stories. Besides the idol of main deity, the temple houses the images of Lord Vishnu, Surya, Indra, Yama and a group of seven mother Goddesses. Shahastra lingam or the 1000 small lingams joined together is situated at the corner of the courtyard.
How to reach Parasurameswara temple Bhubaneswar
The Biju Patnaik Airport at Bhubaneswar is well-connected to Delhi, Varanasi, Nagpur, Visakhapatnam, Calcutta and Chennai. Bhubaneswar is situated on the East Coast line of the Indian Railways and is well-connected by rail to all the major cities in India like major Indian cities like New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad etc. Bhubaneswar is well connected with the rest of the country by good network of state as well as national highways. There are frequent buses from the city to Puri and Konark.