01Ekamra Kshetra
The Ekamra Purana names this ground after a single mango tree under which Bhagwan Shiva dwelt, and tells how Mata Parvati came here and killed the demons Kirti and Vasa, and how Shiva struck the earth to make the Bindusagar lake from the waters of every tirtha. Pilgrims still bathe in Bindusagar before darshan. The linga here is a natural stone, about eight inches high, set in a granite base, and is bathed with water, milk and bhang every day.
02The tower of the Kalinga style
The rekha deula rises about 55 metres in a curving tower ribbed with miniature shrines, and in front of it stand in line the jagamohana, the nata mandira and the bhoga mandapa, the last two added in the Ganga period. Around it, inside a high laterite wall, are more than a hundred smaller shrines. The Ganga kings, who were Vaishnava, honoured the deity as Harihara, and a Vishnu emblem was added; the arrangement has continued since. Each spring, at Ashokashtami, the deity rides out in the Rukuna Ratha to the Rameshwar temple.
The life of this place
- 11th centuryThe main deula and jagamohana are built under the Somavamshi kings.
- 12th centuryThe nata mandira and bhoga mandapa are added in the Ganga period.
Only Hindus may enter; a viewing platform beside the north wall lets others see the tower. Shivaratri draws the biggest crowds.
