Baidyanath Temple, Baideswar, Odisha

Baidyanath Temple, Baideswar, Odisha

Baidyanath Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, located in Baideswar Village in Cuttack District in Odisha State, India. The temple is situated on southern bank of the Mahanadi river in the vicinity of Hatia hillock. The Temple is situated on Cuttack to Daspalla route.

History

The temple is believed to be built by the Gangas in 14^th century CE. The temple is under the control of Endowment Department, Government of Odisha.

The Temple

This temple is facing towards east. The temple consists of a pidha vimana and a pillared mandapa with galvanized steel sheet roof. The vimana is square on plan. The temple is pancharatha on plan and panchangabada in elevation. The doorjambs of the sanctum have three bands of decorations. The sanctum enshrines the presiding deity, Baidyanath, in the form of Linga within a circular yonipitha.

The nisha shrines are added over the parsvadevta niches. The exterior walls of the sanctum is devoid of decoration except a few stucco maithuna images. Idols of Varaha, Parvati, Kartikeya, Shiva, Mahisasuramardini, Surya, and Trivikrama can be seen in the temple premises. There is a step well situated on the northern side of the temple.

Dhabalesvara Shrine:

This shrine is situated inside the Baidyanath Temple. It is an east facing pidha shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva. The shrine enshrines the presiding deity, Dhabalesvara, in the form of Linga within a circular yonipitha. It also enshrines the images of Jain Thirthankara Parshvanatha and Goddess Parvathy. The exterior walls are devoid of any decoration. The temple is of later construction, but the images kept inside the sanctum, can be assigned to the Ganga period of 14^th century CE.

Kapilesvara Shrine:

This shrine is situated inside the Baidyanath Temple. The temple is believed to be built by Gajapathi rulers in 16^th century CE. It is an east facing pidha shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva. The shrine is pancharatha on plan and panchanga bada in elevation. The shrine enshrines the presiding deity, Kapilesvara, in the form of Linga within a rectangular yonipitha. The shrine is square on plan and stands over a low raised platform. The exterior of the shrine is plain except the parsvadevta niches. The parsvadevta niches houses the images of Ganesha, Kartikeya and Parvathy  in the southern, western and northern side respectively.

Festivals

Shivarathri and Kartika Purnima are the festivals celebrated here.

Connectivity

The Temple is located at about 1.5 Kms from Baideswar Bus Stand, 23 Kms from Begunia, 25 Kms from Begunia Railway Station, 41 Kms from Narasinghpur, 64 Kms from Daspalla, 65 Kms from Cuttack, 67 Kms from Bhubaneswar and 67 Kms from Bhubaneswar Airport. The Temple is situated on Cuttack to Daspalla route.

Location