01Kapila’s hill
The hill takes its name from Maharshi Kapila, who is said to have done tapas here. The temple of Chandrasekhar on the summit was raised, by its inscription, in 1246 under Narasimha Deva I of the Eastern Ganga line; an older Shiva shrine on the hill is called Budha Linga, the old linga. Pilgrims climb 1,352 steps, or take the road that loops up through the forest. The hill and its forest are protected as the Kapilash wildlife sanctuary, and elephants are often seen below.
02Shivaratri on the hill
Mahashivaratri is the great night at Kapilash: lakhs climb through the dark carrying lamps, and the mahadeepa is raised on the shikhara at midnight. In Shravan the kanwariyas of Odisha bring water from the Mahanadi and the Brahmani to pour on the linga. A Vishnu shrine stands within the precinct, as at many Shiva temples of Odisha, so that both are honoured on one hilltop.
The life of this place
- 1246 CEThe Chandrasekhar temple is built under Narasimha Deva I, by the temple inscription.
About 26 km from Dhenkanal and 90 km from Bhubaneswar. Steps or road to the top; Shivaratri is very crowded.
