Kapilash Temple, also known as Mahadev Chandrashekhar Temple, is situated in the north eastern part of
Dhenkanal
Dhenkanal is a town and a municipality in Dhenkanal district in the state of Odisha, India.
Geography
Dhenkanal is at . It has an average elevation of 80 metres (262 feet).
Demographics
As per the 2011 India census, Dhenkanal had a p ...
town,
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 at a distance of 26 km from the district headquarters.
Location and architecture
The temple is situated at a height of about 2239 feet from sea level. The main tower of the temple is 60 feet tall. There are two approaches to the temple. One is by climbing 1352 steps and the other is thru Barabanki or travelling by the twisting way. King Narasinghdeva I of Ganga Dynasty constructed the temple for Sri
Chandrasekhar in 1246 CE as indicated in the Kapilash temple inscription. In the left side of the temple the ''Payamrta Kunda'' and in the right side the ''Marichi Kunda'' exist. The temple has a wooden Jagamohana. Sri
Ganesh
Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions ...
,
Kartikeya
Kartikeya (/Sanskrit phonology, kɑɾt̪ɪkejə/; ), also known as Skanda (Sanskrit phonology, /skən̪d̪ə/), Subrahmanya (/Sanskrit phonology, sʊbɾəɦməɲjə/, /ɕʊ-/), Shanmukha (Sanskrit phonology, /ɕɑnmʊkʰə/) and Murugan ...
,
Gangadevi, etc. are found in the temple. Patita pavana
Jagannath
Jagannath (; formerly ) is a Hindu deity worshipped in regional Hindu traditions in India as part of a triad along with (Krishna's) brother Balabhadra, and sister, Subhadra.
Jagannath, within Odia Hinduism, is the supreme god, '' Purushot ...
is installed in the temple as the ''Parsa Deva''. Lord
Vishwanath temple is also situated in Kapilash. According to some scholars this temple is older than the
Chandrasekhar temple, hence it is known as ''Budha Linga''. There are many legends about Kapilash pitha and its significance. Tradition describes it as the ashram of
Kapila
Kapila () (7th-6th-century BCE), also referred to as Cakradhanus, is a Vedic sage in Hindu tradition, regarded the founder of the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy., Quote:"Kapila (fl. 550 BC), Vedic sage and founder of the system of Samkhya, ...
, to some scholars it is the second
Kailash
Mount Kailash (also Kailasa; ''Kangrinboqê'' or ''Gang Rinpoche''; ; ; , ) is a mountain in Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It lies in the Kailash Range (Gangdisê Mountains) of the Transhimalaya, in the western part of ...
of Lord
Shiva
Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...
. Shridhar Swami who wrote commentary on
Bhagavata Purana
The ''Bhagavata Purana'' (; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam)'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' () or simply ''Bhagavata (Bhāgavata)'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen major Puranas (''Mahapuranas'') and one ...
stayed there. There are some monasteries in the premises.
Temple robbery
Three ancient idols were stolen from the temple premises in November 2015.
The three stone ancient idols were stolen from near the entrance of the famous temple, they were statues of Lord Ganesh, Goddess Durga and Goddess Bhairavi.
Gallery
File:Kapilasa temple Dhenkanal Odisha1.jpg, Kapilash Temple
File:Kapilasa_temple_Dhenkanal_Odisha2.jpg, Kapilash Temple
File:Kapilasa temple Dhenkanal Odisha3.jpg, Kapilash Temple
File:Kapilasa temple Dhenkanal Odisha5.jpg, Road to Kapilash Temple
File:Kapilash Hilltop View.JPG, Hilltop View
References
External links
Kapilash Temple Details in Dhenkanal Official Web-sitesculptures of Chandrashekhara temple
Hindu temples in Dhenkanal district
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