I had heard stories of Konark’s glorious past numerous times and had also done some reading beforehand. But when I visited the Sun Temple, I gave in to the temptation of hiring an ASI guide! And it was a wise decision! The stories of the floating deity, the vanished deula, Kalapahar, the powerful magnet that disturbed the compasses of Portuguese ships – transported me to a magical era captured in Time!

My visit to this famous site

A weekend trip to Konark:
Stopping for Chhena Jhilli at Nimapara
If you are planning to drive to Konark from Bhubaneswar, make sure you stop at one of the sweet shops of Nimapara for breakfast. The crunchy puris with the flavourful & spicy ghuguni followed by the delicacy – chenna jhilli – soft, sweet, drowned in an almost caramel-y chashni would be the perfect kick-start to the trip!

Chenna Jhili of Nimapada

A Dose of History at Varahi Temple

If you are an explorer in spirit, like me, take a detour to the Varahi Temple, believed to be older than the Konark Temple! It is somewhere on the road to Kakatpur from Nimapara & we had to ask a lot of people to reach the exact spot! The quest for history took us along narrow village pathways, past houses, ponds & agricultural fields to find the ruins of an ancient temple surrounded by fresh lush greenery.

Sun God at Varahi Temple

Varahi Temple

Exquisite Carvings at Varahi Temple

Stay at Yatri Niwas

Well-maintained lawns, a bar, restaurant serving hearty home-style food and pet ducks roaming around – the Yatri Niwas of OTDC was our abode for a couple of days.

Yatri Niwas, Konark

History Lessons at Konark Museum

Explore the Konark Museum that has well-preserved pieces of art from the temple. Come to know of the history of the temple in details.

Beach Vibes at Chandrabhaga

Spend some time at Chandrabhaga beach over cups of tea or coconut water. It is one of the less crowded beaches in the region. Lined with Jhau or Casuarina trees, it is also one of the most beautiful beaches. Do not consider bathing as the undercurrents in the water make it a dangerous one too.

Beach vibes- Chandrabhaga Beach

Chandrabhaga Beach

The Legend of Ramchandi Temple
Folklore has it – Kalapahar (the destroyer of numerous Hindu temples & deities in Odisha) had come to the Ramchandi Temple after attacking the Konark Temple. He spotted an old woman at the entrance who asked him to wait until she got some water from the Chandrabhaga river! Kalapahar waited for a while & then realising his mistake entered the temple to discover that the deity was floating in mid-water! It is believed that the old woman was the Goddess herself!

Ramchandi Temple, Chandrabhaga

An added attraction of this temple is the skeletal remains of an unbelievably huge whale shark, the carcass of which had surfaced on the beach nearby, many years ago! At the Chandrabhaga estuary, you can also indulge in some water sports.

Long Drive on Konark-Puri Marine Drive

A long drive on the picturesque Konark-Puri marine drive along the Balukhand-Konark Wildlife Sanctuary is a great idea! Visit the lighthouse or simply enjoy the views of the sparkling blue sea through the jhau trees – the smooth & well-maintained road will make every experience pleasant. We were also quite lucky to have spotted a fox from the sanctuary, crossing the road.

Puri-Konark Marine Drive

Spend the sunset at the Sun Temple
Sit on the natmandir & watch the bustle of the tourists slowly die down with the fall of evening, giving way to a surreal solitude!

Sun Temple Konark at Evening

As I watched people clicking selfies, chatting on the Colossal steps of the jagamohana, I didn’t realize when the noises had died & darkness had descended. The Sun God, after a tiring day had returned to his abode in the imaginary deula turning it into a source of light that lit up only his temple as the rest of the universe remained dark!
Though the credit of this magical lighting goes to the arc lights placed at the bottom of the jagamohana, spending such a sunset there is highly recommended. Believe it or not, a fraction from the past is left behind in this Temple of Time, a glimpse of which can be got in the twilight!

Konark Chakra – an emblem of a Timeless Classic

By Aratrika Das Brahmachari – Aratrika is a Social Media Consultant & a blogger

Prachi river valley in Odisha is known for its rich confluence of religions & heritage monuments, and among it, there’s a lesser known & lesser visited ancient temple by the name Madhukesvara.

Madhukesvara is located on the banks of Kusabhadra river (a distributary of Mahanadi like Prachi) at Deulidharpur in Banamalipur block (22 km from Bhubaneswar). It’s a 15.8 m Shiva temple built in Kalingan style with a rekha vimana and a pidha jagamohan. The important features of this temple is the torana (arch) which has resemblance with Mukteswar temple’s torana in Bhubaneswar. The stone inscription in proto Odia language, inside the temple mentions about Gajapati dynasty, but it seems like built during Somavamsi rule (as per the brick sizes used) & later renovated by Gajapatis in 15th century.

It’s a living temple built in pancharatha plan facing east with a Shivalinga . On the outer side, there’s not much images beyond parsvadevtas. The building technique used is aslar dry masonry with sand stone & bricks. Since it stands in isolation & located between a river & a canal (Gop canal), there is water logging issue during the monsoon. The common festival & rituals carried in the temples includes Mahashivratri, Makar Sankranti, Bada Osha etc. There’s one more heritage temple nearby on the other side of the Gop canal, with the named Bodhakesvara, which is locally referred as the elder brother of Madhukesvara.

Madhukesvara is without any basic facilities like public transport, toilet, & even without any provision shops nearby, hence visitors need to pre-make necessary arrangements on their own. The route : Bhubaneswar >>Uttara Square>>Balianta>>Balipatna>>Banamalipur market>>Deulidharpur>> Madhukesvara

Photo & Article: Taranisen Pattnaik

XBHP team undertook a road trip to Northern Odisha on 9th-10th September 2017. We covered Chakratirtha, Gadachandi, Salandi Dam, Emami Jagannath Temple at Balgopalpur, Chandipur, Panchalingeshwar ,Nilgiri & Mitari- the blue lake.

A-bikers-favourite-pic-the-Bike-and-the-Landscape

The places were breathtaking and the perennial stream near Gadachandi is a perfect place to take a refreshing bath and rejuvenate yourself for the onward journey. Our journey was a smooth one, save for the odd patch of bad roads especially between Salandi Dam ( also called Hadgarh Dam) to Bhadrak and the torrential rains.

Our first stop was Chakratirtha

Chakratirtha-Water-Fall

Our second stop was at Gadachandi.

Gada-Chandi-Temple

XBHP-Team-at-the-Gadachandi-Water-fall

Small-Lake-on-the-way-back-from-Gadachandi

Our third stop for the day was at Salandi Dam also known as Hadagarh Dam.

Salandi-Dam

Due to poor road condition we reached Bhadrak at 4pm, after a quick lunch we headed off to Emami Jagannath Temple, Balgopalpur before we retired for the day at Chandipur.

Next day we started for Panchalingeswar.Located near Chandipur its a revered Shiva Temple,located on a hill top the temple makes for a picturesque setting with a stream flowing through.

Panchalingeswar-Temple-Complex

After Panchalingeswar we headed off for Nilgiri, According to data on web, the Nilgiri state was founded in 1125 by a mystical ancestor coming from the Chhota Nagpur region. In 1525 Raja Narayan Singh distinguished himself by his service to Emperor Akbar in the battles against Afghan invaders. Between 1611 and 1797 there were seven successive rulers. The rulers of Nilgiri State were Rajputs of the Bhanja dynasty. This Palace was built on 1898 .

Nilgiri-Palace

There is a small tunnel located in the front yard of Palace. As the caretaker explained it is connected to the main gate of the Palace. There is a well inside the tunnel & its water is used for all temple rituals. In summer one can walk from one end to another but in rainy season as the water level rise up it is restricted from common people. As they don’t want people feet’s touching the water .

The-Tunnel-in-the-Nilgiri-Palace

On the way back we stopped at Mitari the Blue Lake

Blue-Lake-at-Mitari

On the way back , we experienced heavy rains which delayed us by a good couple of hours, we could reach Bhubaneswar at 8pm, exhausted but a thoroughly enjoyable trip.

Our team for the Trip

The-XBHP-Team

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Sisupalgarh, the name itself means a lot. The remains of the ancient city Sisupalgarh has been discovered near Bhubaneswar, capital of the Odisha,India. And truly, I am fortunate enough to live in the city. I try to find various things regarding Sisupalgarh and to my surprise this monument or rather say city, is one of the most preserved city in the world. The excavations of Sisupalgarh took place in various phases. The first excavations at the site were carried out by Mr.B.B. Lal in 1948.On the basis of the architectural pattern and artefacts discovered during the excavations, Mr.B.B.Lal concluded that this fort city flourished between 3rd century BC and 4th century AD. An American-Indian team took up work in 2001. In 2005 ground penetrating radar revealed the probable position of the southern moat.On the basis of the new findings, Miss Monica L. Smith and Mr.R.K. Mohanty claim that the fortified city flourished from around 5th century BC and probably lasted well after the 4th century. Thus, this defensive settlement originated prior to the Mauryan empire.

Stone pillars of Sisupalgarh

The construction of Sisupalgarh was based on JalaDurga(Water Fort) concept, which in Odia is known as GadaKhai concept. Jala Durga is a type of durga or fort, which must be situated within water body, and its access is rendered difficult on account of the typical tract. It is divided into two categories, viz., the Anterdvipa (Island fort) and the Sthala Durga (Land fort). Antardvipa-Durga (island fortress) is surrounded by natural (sea or river) water bodies. Sthala-Durga (plain fortress)is surrounded by artificial moats or irrigated by a river. This may be assumed that Sisupalgarh was based on Sthala Durga concept, as we can also find remains of River Gandhawati, which is now famous as Gangua nala.

Present state of River Gandhawati

They also have a planned drainage system. It’s really surprising that when urbanisation and planning was not taken place in full fledged form, the planners of Sisupalgarh, develop such kind of design.

Remains of Drainage system of Sisulpalgarh

The pillars of Sisupalgarh really attracted lots of enthusiastic mind. But, what were the specific uses of these are still not clear. Some room type structures were discovered adjacent to those pillars, during the excavation.
Till now Eighteen stone pillars were excavated, and a lot is there to excavate. Kindly note the body of pillar is plain.While travelling into the city, I found a small settlement of some people. Near their settlement, a small pond is available.From this small pond, at that time, some antiquities were found but they were lost now. A special type of pillar were recovered from this pond by these persons and due to the typical structure of that pillar, they are worshiping it now, as a Shiva Linga.

Pillar worshipped as Shivling by Locals

Inside the city you will get another small pond. This pond is famous as RaniGadhua, or the pond where the Queen used to bath.This RaniGadhua is almost dried up now. The typical things I found there was a well and a boundary of a small tank. When you closely look at the boundary of that tank, you will observed the peculiar images of elephants, which were also found in lots of temples and other heritage places.
The steps that lead us to the RaniGadhua also have a small temple like structure. It may signify that, after bath, queen did some small puja remembering her IshtaDeva or IshtaDevi.

Elephant Carvings lead to the Rani Gadhu Pond at Sisupalgarh

The other side wall also has structures similar to the old Kalingan Architecture. Various gates were also discovered during the excavations. It is known that this fortified city had eight numbers of gates. Two gates pierce each of the glacis of the quadrangular plan. A glacis is an artificial slope as part of a castle or fortresses. Sisupalgarh’s defenses are the highest known of this period in India. The ancient settlement probably was not dense, but rather there was room inside the fortress to graze.

The Steps to the gate of the Sisupalgarh fort

The population of the city could have amounted to 20,000 to 25,000. Archaeologists have employed geophysical survey, systematic surface collections and selected excavations in the 4.8 km perimeter of the fortified area and studied individual houses and civic as well as domestic architecture to arrive at the figure. The significance of the population is clear when one bears in mind that the population of classical Athens was 10,000. However the historians also claim that it is too early to comment on the population of the city as yet only a part of the city has been excavated.

Remains of Drainage system of Sisulpalgarh

Now a day, due to the negligence of state government, ASI and Odisha tourism this world known heritage city is under the threat of Land Mafia. According to a survey by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in 1947–48, the area was spread over 562.68 acres of land, but today only 0.77 acres of this entire land remain under the ASI’s control. More than 1,000 buildings are constructed inside the fort area, violating norms of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2010. This clearly shows that there has been no action taken by the state and ASI authorities to stop the illegal activities.

A water tank amidst the ruins of Sisulpalgarh

Illegal encroachments can be seen by land mafias in the area. Since 2002, yearly satellite images document the illegal house building especially in the north-western quarter which increased in tempo since 2010. Encroachment starts with the staking out of lots. Gradually, building materials is piled up. Foundation walls are laid. Then suddenly the house is erected as soon as possible before the officials can react. Since 2010 the developers have begun to build into the southern city wall and the officials seem to do nothing to counter this.

Illegal encroachment at Sisupalgarh

Our historians identified Sisupalgarh with Toshali and Kalinga Nagara. Kalinga Nagara was the famous capital city of King Kharavela. The Hati Gumpha (Elephant Cave) inscription of Udayagiri in Bhubaneswar points towards this fact.
I want to conclude with a famous quotation by German Professor Paul Yule of the University of Heidelberg “We have one Sisupalgarh in the entire world and we have to preserve it.” When German Professor Paul Yule can understand the importance of Sisupalgarh, I wonder why our own Government, ASI and Tourism department are not able to understand.
Please Save Sisupalgah…..

Post by Ashish Sarangi
His twitter handle – @ashishsarangi