Brahmeswara Temple, Bhubaneswar

01A queen mother’s gift

The stone that recorded the founding was taken from the temple in the 19th century and later lost, but its text had been copied. It says that Kolavati Devi, mother of the Somavamshi king Udyotakesari, built the temple in her son’s eighteenth year and gave it women dancers for its service. That makes Brahmeswara one of the few Bhubaneswar temples dated by its own record. Scholars use it as a fixed point to date the temples around it, Lingaraja among them.

02Five shrines in one court

The main deul and its jagamohana stand in the middle of a walled court, with a small shrine at each corner, the panchayatana plan in full. The outer walls are carved inside and out with musicians, dancers and Shiva’s many forms. Inside the jagamohana the walls are carved too, which is rare in Bhubaneswar. The temple still has a linga in worship and a priest, and on Shivaratri the lamps are lit along the walls.

The life of this place