Narasimha Temple is a 14th–15th-century temple in

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango trees (''ekamra'')). Bhubaneswar is ...

city of the state of

Odisha, India Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sch ...

. The time period of its construction is estimated from its architectural features. Its tradition and legends are same as the Gosagaresvara temple. It is situated in the precinct of Gosagaresvara on the southeastern side of Gosagaresvara Shiva and Paradaresvara Shiva temples. The presiding deity is a four armed

Narasimha Narasimha ( sa, नरसिंह, lit=man-lion, ), sometimes rendered Narasingha, is the fourth avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is regarded to have incarnated in the form of a part-lion, part-man being to slay Hiranyakashipu, to end rel ...

image seating on a pedestal. His upper left hand holding a

conch Conch () is a common name of a number of different medium-to-large-sized sea snails. Conch shells typically have a high spire and a noticeable siphonal canal (in other words, the shell comes to a noticeable point at both ends). In North Am ...

, upper right hand holds a

disk Disk or disc may refer to: * Disk (mathematics), a geometric shape * Disk storage Music * Disc (band), an American experimental music band * ''Disk'' (album), a 1995 EP by Moby Other uses * Disk (functional analysis), a subset of a vector sp ...

while in his major left and right hand are busy in killing the demon. The base of the pedestal is carved with series of females, in anjalii mudra. The cella measures 1.15 square metres and is facing towards west.

Physical description

Surroundings

The temple surrounded by Sanisvara Siva temple in west, Paradaresvara Siva and Gosagaresvara Siva temple in the north western corner and Isanesvara in the north eastern corner.

Orientation

The temple is facing towards west.

Architectural features (plan and elevation)

The temple stands over a low pista. On plan, temple is pancharatha with a square vimana measuring 2.10 square metres and a frontal porch of 0.40 metres. On elevation, temple is in pidha order with usual bada, gandi and mastaka measuring 3.38 metres in height from bottom to top. The bada measuring 1.28 metres has threefold divisions in which pabhaga measures 0.38 metres, jangha 0.73 metres and baranda measures 0.27 metres in height. The gandi measures 1.15 metres and the mastaka 0.95 in height.

Condition of the temple

The temple was repaired by the Orissa State Archaeology under X and XI Finance Commission Award and presently maintained by the locals living around the temple. At the moment the temple is in a good state. Detached sculptures of a four armed

Ganesha Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu d ...

and a

lingam A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotional im ...

made of sandstone are there inside the sanctum.

References

* Lesser Known Monuments of Bhubaneswar by Dr. Sadasiba Pradhan ({{ISBN, 81-7375-164-1) * http://ignca.nic.in/asi_reports/orkhurda009.pdf Hindu temples in Bhubaneswar Narasimha temples