Vaital Deul Temple
The Vaital Deul Temple is one of the most extraordinary Hindu temples in the city of Bhubaneswar in the Indian state of Odisha .
location
The Vaital Deul is located in the heart of the old town of Bhubaneswar about 200 m west of the Bindu-Sagar pond and about 500 m northwest of the Lingaraja temple .
history
The temple is not dated, but according to most researchers it belongs to the late 8th century. Its original name is unknown: the word deul in the Oriya language means a temple; the term vaital refers to the transverse roof shape that appears for the first time on Bhima-Ratha in Mamallapuram ( Tamil Nadu ) - there were probably wooden models, none of which have survived. It was followed by buildings such as Temple No. 20 in Naresar or the Teli-ka-Mandir in the Fort of Gwalior .
Consecration
In the rectangular cella ( garbhagriha ) there is a figure of the (mother) goddess Chamunda , which indicates influences from the world of Tantrism . Whether this consecration is original is unknown - the program of figures on the outer wall corresponds largely to that of a normal Hindu temple of the time. Inside the vestibule, however, there are figure reliefs of the seven or eight mothers and two Bhairava figures with erect limbs. Chamunda herself sits - accompanied by a jackal and an owl - with his tongue sticking out on a corpse; around her neck she wears a skull chain, in her eight hands she holds a sword, a trident ( trishula ), a snake ( naga ), a bow and arrow, a shield and a thunderbolt ( vajra ).
architecture
In front of the inflated by the cross-bearing and richly structured tower Cella is a pillar-supported vestibule ( mandapa ) with four Shikhara -bekrönten corner towers with amalaka - and Kalash motifs and a slightly raised center section - comparable to that of about 1 km east lies parashurameshvara temple . While the cella has no windows, the vestibule receives light from the always open door, two simple Jali windows and the small skylights.
Sculptures
The sculptural decorations on the outer walls include an Ardhanarishvara figure, Durga as the slayer of the buffalo demon ( mahisasurmardini ), Shiva and Parvati in intimate togetherness on Mount Kailash , Shiva as a ten-armed cosmic dancer ( nataraja ), God Surya in his two-horse chariot accompanied by his two sisters Usha (sunrise) and Pratyusha (sunset). Also noteworthy are numerous 'beautiful girls' ( surasundaris ) in different poses; including that of a salabhanjika . The side pilasters are richly decorated with jug and leaf motifs ( kalashas ) as well as finely chased tendrils framed by pearl rods .
Web links
literature
- Debala Mitra: Bhubaneswar. Archaeological Survey of India , New Delhi 1984
- TE Donaldson: Hindu Temple Art of Orissa. Volume 1, Leiden 1985
- Robert Strasser: Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal. Indoculture, Stuttgart 1991, ISBN 3-921948-10-X , p. 68 ff
Coordinates: 20 ° 14 ′ 32 " N , 85 ° 49 ′ 55" E