Odisha (Orissa), just like Andhra or Tamil Nadu is a land of temples whose attraction is their architecture with countless delicately carved small figures of gods, goddesses, demigods, etc. Many of them show the impact of the ravages of time and weather. We mostly come across the devotional type of temple design across the states and some contain small erotic sculptures.
The Odisha temples can be classified into three types -
Khakhara Deula, Rekha Deula and Pidha or Bhadra Deula. Among them, the Khakhara Deula is altogether a different style of architecture, reminiscent of the Dravidian Gopuram (tower) design. The word is derived from kakharu (pumpkin, gourd) as the crown/summit looks like a barrel-vaulted elongated roof. The Sakta (shakti) temples are generally of Khakhara order.
Vaital Deul Hindu Temple, one of the oldest ones (late 8th century) is dedicated to Goddess Chamunda and is in Bhubaneswar (Khurda district), the capital city of Orissa, India. This typical Khakara temple is also locally known as "Tini Mundia Mandira" and its unique feature is the shape of its sanctuary tower. The khakhra temple commonly has a typical semi-cylindrical shape of its roof and in a way shows similarity with those Dravidian styled temples of South India with particular reference to gopurams/towers.
The plan of the deul (shrine) is oblong and the Jagamohana (pyramidal roof with horizontal platforms, receding in size) is a rectangular structure, but embedded in each angle is a small subsidiary shrine. Vaital Deul has amazing relief figures that have delicate features marked by delicacy and perfect equipoise. Other exciting features are the temple outer walls are adorned with well-planned panels of Hindu deities. These include mostly Shiva and his consort Parvati in her Shakti form, processions on a hunting mission, capturing of wild elephants, etc. There are occasional carvings of erotic couples.
Two chaitya windows dominate the front of the deul above the left of the jagamohana - the lower one has a carved figure of sun god Surya with Usha (Dawn) and Pratyusha shooting arrows on either side while Aruna in front driving a chariot of seven horses. We have commonly come across this kind of representation of Sun God Surya in many Hindu textbooks.
The panel in the upper Chaitya-window houses a 10-armed Nataraja or dancing Shiva. There are two Buddha-like figures seated in dharma-chakra-pravartana on a stone post in front of the flat roofed jagamohana.
Many features of the presiding deity here show certain distinct characteristics of the Tantrik type of worship, which is unusual. The striking feature is the ferocious-looking figure of goddess Durga with eight arms (Chamunda) in the Gurbagraha - sanctum and is enshrined in the central niche. Locally, the goddess goes by the name of Kapalini and, hence, this one is a shakti shrine. The tantric aspects are revealed further by the appearance
of the presiding deity. Here, the main deity Chamunda or Mahishasuramardini sits on a corpse bordered by a jackal and an owl. She wears a garland of skulls and holds a snake, bow, shield, sword, trident, thunderbolt and an arrow, piercing the neck of the demon. The niche is capped by a chaitya window containing seated figures of Shiva and Parvati.
The Chamunda is surrounded by a host of other smaller size carvings of demi-gods in the lower parts of the walls, each within a niche separated by a pilaster. The figure on the east wall, near the door, is a skeleton form of Bhairava. It forms the counterpart of Chamunda on the east wall.
On the north wall also one could see the tantric aspects such as a skull-cup with the blood of a person whose severed head lies on the right. On the pedestal is an offering of two more heads on a tray resting on a tripod, flanked by a jackal feasting on the decapitated body on the right and a woman holding a head on the left.
The stone post also exhibits the tantric character of the temple where sacrificial offerings were chained/tied, just in front of the jagamohana. You need an artificial light to see in the darkness of the interior, though early morning sun lights up the interior.
Ref:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baitala_Deula
The Odisha temples can be classified into three types -
Khakhara Deula, Rekha Deula and Pidha or Bhadra Deula. Among them, the Khakhara Deula is altogether a different style of architecture, reminiscent of the Dravidian Gopuram (tower) design. The word is derived from kakharu (pumpkin, gourd) as the crown/summit looks like a barrel-vaulted elongated roof. The Sakta (shakti) temples are generally of Khakhara order.
 |
| Baitala Deuḷa Temple ,Bubaneswar. .hindudevotionalblog.com |
Vaital Deul Hindu Temple, one of the oldest ones (late 8th century) is dedicated to Goddess Chamunda and is in Bhubaneswar (Khurda district), the capital city of Orissa, India. This typical Khakara temple is also locally known as "Tini Mundia Mandira" and its unique feature is the shape of its sanctuary tower. The khakhra temple commonly has a typical semi-cylindrical shape of its roof and in a way shows similarity with those Dravidian styled temples of South India with particular reference to gopurams/towers.
The plan of the deul (shrine) is oblong and the Jagamohana (pyramidal roof with horizontal platforms, receding in size) is a rectangular structure, but embedded in each angle is a small subsidiary shrine. Vaital Deul has amazing relief figures that have delicate features marked by delicacy and perfect equipoise. Other exciting features are the temple outer walls are adorned with well-planned panels of Hindu deities. These include mostly Shiva and his consort Parvati in her Shakti form, processions on a hunting mission, capturing of wild elephants, etc. There are occasional carvings of erotic couples.
Two chaitya windows dominate the front of the deul above the left of the jagamohana - the lower one has a carved figure of sun god Surya with Usha (Dawn) and Pratyusha shooting arrows on either side while Aruna in front driving a chariot of seven horses. We have commonly come across this kind of representation of Sun God Surya in many Hindu textbooks.
The panel in the upper Chaitya-window houses a 10-armed Nataraja or dancing Shiva. There are two Buddha-like figures seated in dharma-chakra-pravartana on a stone post in front of the flat roofed jagamohana.
Many features of the presiding deity here show certain distinct characteristics of the Tantrik type of worship, which is unusual. The striking feature is the ferocious-looking figure of goddess Durga with eight arms (Chamunda) in the Gurbagraha - sanctum and is enshrined in the central niche. Locally, the goddess goes by the name of Kapalini and, hence, this one is a shakti shrine. The tantric aspects are revealed further by the appearance
 |
| Baitala Deuḷa Temple of Goddess Chamunda in Bhubaneswar. Flick com |
 |
| Baitala Deuḷa Temple of Goddess Chamunda in Bhubaneswar. Wikiwand |
of the presiding deity. Here, the main deity Chamunda or Mahishasuramardini sits on a corpse bordered by a jackal and an owl. She wears a garland of skulls and holds a snake, bow, shield, sword, trident, thunderbolt and an arrow, piercing the neck of the demon. The niche is capped by a chaitya window containing seated figures of Shiva and Parvati.
The Chamunda is surrounded by a host of other smaller size carvings of demi-gods in the lower parts of the walls, each within a niche separated by a pilaster. The figure on the east wall, near the door, is a skeleton form of Bhairava. It forms the counterpart of Chamunda on the east wall.
On the north wall also one could see the tantric aspects such as a skull-cup with the blood of a person whose severed head lies on the right. On the pedestal is an offering of two more heads on a tray resting on a tripod, flanked by a jackal feasting on the decapitated body on the right and a woman holding a head on the left.
The stone post also exhibits the tantric character of the temple where sacrificial offerings were chained/tied, just in front of the jagamohana. You need an artificial light to see in the darkness of the interior, though early morning sun lights up the interior.
Ref:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baitala_Deula
