Anshuman temple is a 10th-century temple in

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar () is the capital and the largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. It is located in the Khordha district. The suburban region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Chakra ...

in the state of

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is on the southwestern embankment of Bindusagar tank in Badu Sahi, Old town.

Description

It is 15 metres east of Markandesvara temple and to the northwest of Mohini temple at a distance of 30 metres. The presiding deity is Mahisasuramardini. The temple is facing south and the presiding deity is facing east. Religious sacraments like Durgastami and Balabhoga are performed here. The temple is maintained by Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation. It is in fair state of preservation. Anshuman temple was repaired by the Odisha State Archaeology under the X and XI Finance Commission Award. The temple is surrounded by Bindusagar tank in the east at a distance of 6.40 metres, Markandeya temple in the west and private residential buildings in the southern side.

Architecture

Architectural features

Anshuman temple is constructed in the Kalinga style using coarse-grained

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

. The main temple is a Khakhara Deul. It is rectangular on plan measuring 1.28 metres x 1.83 metres. On elevation, the

vimana Vimāna are mythological flying palaces or chariots described in Hindu texts and Sanskrit epics. The "Pushpaka Vimana" of Ravana (who took it from Kubera; Rama returned it to Kubera) is the most quoted example of a vimana. Vimanas are also menti ...

is of khakhara order measuring 42.94 metres in height from pabhaga to mastaka. From bottom to the top, the temple has bada, gandi and mastaka. With five-fold divisions, the bada measures 1.74 metres. At the bottom, the pabhaga measures 0.26 metres in height. Jangha measuring 0.52 metres is segmented into tala jangha and upara jangha by a set of bandhana moulding. Bandhana measures 0.08 metres and baranda measures in 0.26 metres. Gandi of the temple is in khakhara order which is arranged in three tires with a semi cylindrical roof. The mastaka consists of a kalasa flanked by two gajakranta on either sides.

Decorative features

The doorjamb is decorated with two plaster design measuring 1.10 metres x 0.65 metres. Besides the main entrance, there are two subsidiary gateways in the eastern and northern walls. These two gateways are uniform in measurement measuring 0.92 metres x 0.59 metres.

References

External links

*Pradhan, Sadasiba (2009). Lesser Known Monuments Of Bhubaneswar. Bhubaneswar: Lark Books. pp. 1–2. .
Indira Gandhi National Centre For The Arts: Archaeological sites of Odisha
{{Temples in Bhubaneswar Hindu temples in Bhubaneswar 10th-century Hindu temples Durga temples Shakti temples