Spying on Orrisan temples – 1

Being a national heritage and in some instances – a still functioning sanctuary – open for public, Orrisan temples did appeared and would always remain a mystery to me. I have seen a number of those 500 temples left from the original 7000 in Bhubaneswar, the grand Sun Temple in Konark and a magnet-for-pilgrims Jagannath temple in Puri. Yet I did not get a chance to fully experience any of them.

What is an Orrisan temple like? Imagine a long hanging marigold garland…This is a main tower (deul) of an Orissan temple – as tall, as terry due to its extensive and incredibly fine carvings on the outer walls, as segmented – both horizontally and vertically – reflecting a very composite structure of the construction. A shorter rectangular-in-its-basement building in front of the tower is a porch (jagamohana). Later temples also have a dancing hall (hota mandir) and a hall of offerings (bhoga mandir). Yet, personally, I find carvings more fascinating than the geometry of the temple complex as such. Depicting gods and scenes from the epics, the carvings are astonishing in their precision and artistic contribution. One can walk rounds and rounds while discovering tine and huge figures of pot-bellied women with bare perfectly round balls of breasts, unbelievably small waist and curvy heaps covered by garlands and other decorations; intricate compositions of flowers and animals; gods with their vehicles and symbols; and impressive scenes from the immortal epics.

To be continued…