Chitrakarini Temple, Bhubaneswar, Odisha
Chitrakarini Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Goddess Sakthi located in Bhubaneswar, the state capital of Odisha, India. It is one of the important Sakthi temples in Bhubaneswar. The Chitrakarini temple is situated on the west of the Lingaraj Temple. The Temple is under the control of Archeological Survey of India (ASI).
History
The Temple is believed to be built in the mid of 13th Century CE by Ganga Kings. It was built by the Ganga King Narasimha Deva I (also called as Parama Mahesvara).
The Temple
Chitrakarini temple is a Panchayatana temple where the main temple stands in the center facing east and a subsidiary shrine is placed at each corner. The overall complex is enclosed within a laterite wall. The main shrine in the middle has two parts namely sanctum sanctorum and Jagamohana. The other four shrines have only sanctum.
All the sanctum sanctorums follow rekha deula style. The Jagamohana of the main shrine follows Pidha Deula style. It is believed that the temple was dedicated to Chitrakarini, the goddess of painting, a form of Saraswathi. However, the current deity enshrined in the sanctum is a form of Chamunda. Chamunda idol is red colored stone idol.
The idols of Hanuman and bas relief idols of Navagraha in a single row can be found in the Jagamohana. All these idols are not old as the temple. It is said that once, there were five idols in the main shrine and one idol in each sub shrine, making totally nine idols of Shakti in this temple. However, no idols are found in these four shrines.
The vimana, pidha and the walls of the shrines are intricately decorated and have lot of sculptures and friezes such as elephants, lions, lions controlling elephants, dancing girls, Dikpalas and their corresponding Shaktis, amorous couple, Shiva marriage scene, Krishna with Gopis, erotic figures, Nagas and deities from Hindu pantheon can be found on them.
Connectivity
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