Sashisena Temple, Sonepur, Odisha

Sashisena Temple, Sonepur, Odisha

Sashisena Temple is located in Sonepur Town in Sonepur Block in Subarnapur District in Odisha, India. The temple is also called as Nimunhi Temple (Temple with no entrance and exit). The Temple was constructed to commemorate the eternal love between Sashisena, the princess of Amaravati and Ahimanikya the son of the minister of Amaravati kingdom. The temple is situated on the confluence of Mahanadi river and Tel river.

Legends

As per legend, Sashisena, the daughter of Amravati King Vikram Keshari, had fallen in love with Ahimanikya. Ahimanikya was the son of a minister of Amravati Kingdom. Both of them got married secretly. Gyanadei Maluni, one of the seven famous Tantrik maidens of Sonepur, had also fallen in love with Ahimanikya. Once, when he went out alone to the market, she induced him to come to her place. There, she turned him into a lamb with her esoteric art.

She transformed him into a human again in the night for sexual gratification but remained a lamb during the day time. Sashisena frantically searched for Ahimanikya, but in vain. She then prayed to Goddess Bhagawati. With the blessings of the Goddess, Ahimanikya was freed from the witch’s spell and finally their true love won. This temple was built commemorating their true love.

History

The present temple was built by Maharaja Vira Mitrodaya Singh of the Chauhan dynasty of Subarnapur (1902-1937 CE). It is said that the current temple was rebuilt after the original eighth century temple got destroyed. The Sasisena Kavya written by Pratap Rai a well-known poet of 17^th century describes the detail story behind this temple.

The Temple

The temple stands over a rectangular platform. The temple has no opening at all. The temple is about seven feet tall. The external walls of the temple are decorated with carvings depicting motifs of the love story of Sashisena and Ahimanikya. Carvings of the lamb, tiger, cobra, youths, soldiers, the women with the esoteric power can be seen on the walls of the temple.

Connectivity

The temple is located at about 1 Km from Sonepur Bus Stand, 43 Kms from Boudh, 50 Kms from Balangir, 50 Kms from Balangir Junction Railway Station, 80 Kms from Sambalpur, 141 Kms from Jharsuguda Airport, 267 Kms from Bhubaneswar and 267 Kms from Bhubaneswar Airport. Sonepur is situated on Boudh to Balangir route. Sonepur is well connected to Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur, Sambalpur and Balangir by regular bus services.

Location