Mukteswar Temple

Getting there

• By air

  Biju Patnaik International Airport is Bhubaneswar's airport.

• By road

  The main inter-state bus terminus, Baramunda, is 8 km from the city centre.

Why devotees come here

Mukteswar Temple is a 10th-century temple dedicated to Shiva in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. It is one of the prominent tourist attractions of the city. Its arched torana gateway shows the influence of Buddhist architecture.

The name Mukteshvara means freedom from the cycle of births and deaths. The temple stands in Bhubaneswar, the capital and largest city of Odisha, in Khordha district.

The temple is dated to 950 to 975 CE, and it is an important monument for the study of how Hindu temples developed in Odisha. The scholar K.C. Panigrahi places it at 966 CE and credits the Somavamshi king Yayati I. The vimana, the main shrine, is square in plan and stands on a raised platform. Its shikara is 10.5 metres tall, and every inch of it is carved with patterns and figures.

The most important feature is the torana, the arched gateway. It dates to about 900 CE and shows the influence of Buddhist architecture. The jagamohana, the assembly hall in front of the shrine, is 35 metres tall. According to tradition, barren women give birth to sons if they bathe in the Marichi Kunda tank in the temple premises on the night before the Ashokashtami car festival. The tank is part of the temple grounds.

Festivals

• Yearly. A news report gave January 14 to 16.Mukteswar Dance Festival

  A three-day Odissi dance function held every year on the temple premises, run by the state Department of Tourism.

Tips for your visit

• The Marichi Kunda tank is inside the temple premises, the place the legend above refers to.
• The Odissi dance festival is staged on the temple premises, so visitors see it at the temple itself.

Questions people ask