Rajarani Temple
Encyclopedia
Rajarani Temple is an 11th century Hindu temple
dedicated to Lord Siva located in Bhubaneswar
, the capital city of Orissa
, India
. Originally it was known as Indreswara, and serves as a shrine to Shiva
. It is known as 'love temple', covered with coyly erotic carvings of women and couples. The temple is aesthetically endearing with its graceful sculptures.
(tower) is clustered by miniature towers with double crowning elements and appears round, like the towers of Khajuraho temples. The flat ribbed crowning amalaka and kalasa on the tower are surrounded by four squitting figures.
temples in Bhubaneswar
ends with 'Isvara' like Parasurameswara, Brahmesvara, Mitresvara. But Rajarani temple bears a peculiar name and it contains no deity inside the temple. There are certain features of the temple which proves its Saivite(Lord Siva oriented) orgin like the presence of Saiva door keepers namely Prachanda and Chanda, Dvarapla with jatamukha and a garland of skulls reaching up to the things and a snake
Hindu temple
A Mandir, Devalayam, Devasthanam, or a Hindu temple is a place of worship for followers of Hinduism...
dedicated to Lord Siva located in Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar is the capital of the Indian state of Orissa, officially Odisha. The city has a long history of over 2000 years starting with Chedi dynasty who had Sisupalgarh near present-day Bhubaneswar as their capital...
, the capital city of Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Originally it was known as Indreswara, and serves as a shrine to Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
. It is known as 'love temple', covered with coyly erotic carvings of women and couples. The temple is aesthetically endearing with its graceful sculptures.
The Temple
Rajarani Temple stands on a raised platform. Its spire is decorated with clusters of turrets (replication of the spire itself) emerging form the rib of the spire. The sculptures on the Rajarani Temple have a depth that was lacking in the Mukteswara Temple sculptures. The Jagamohana (porch) though demonstrating a pyramidal structure is yet to take on as a complete structure of its own. It bears signs of repair in 1903 when it collapsed into ruins.Guardians of the Eight Directions'projecting from the base of the temple in the eight directions, starting from the gateway in a clockwise direction around the porch and the deul to end back at the torana(entrance).Architecture
The temple was constructed of dull red and turbid yellow sandstone locally called "Rajarani". The slightly projected entrance to the temple is flanked by round thick columns entwined by naga on the left. The 18m(55ft) vimanaVimana
Vimāna is a word with several meanings ranging from temple or palace to mythological flying machines described in Sanskrit epics.-Etymology and usage:Sanskrit vi-māna literally means "measuring out, traversing" or "having been measured out"...
(tower) is clustered by miniature towers with double crowning elements and appears round, like the towers of Khajuraho temples. The flat ribbed crowning amalaka and kalasa on the tower are surrounded by four squitting figures.
Peculiarity
The name of all SivaSiva
Siva may refer to:*Shiva, a major Hindu God*Živa , a Slavic goddess*A pro-apoptotic signaling protein*1170 Siva, asteroid named after the god*Siva , name of several rural localities in Russia...
temples in Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar is the capital of the Indian state of Orissa, officially Odisha. The city has a long history of over 2000 years starting with Chedi dynasty who had Sisupalgarh near present-day Bhubaneswar as their capital...
ends with 'Isvara' like Parasurameswara, Brahmesvara, Mitresvara. But Rajarani temple bears a peculiar name and it contains no deity inside the temple. There are certain features of the temple which proves its Saivite(Lord Siva oriented) orgin like the presence of Saiva door keepers namely Prachanda and Chanda, Dvarapla with jatamukha and a garland of skulls reaching up to the things and a snake