Bhubaneswar: On Mother’s Day, participants at Ekamra Walks on the Old Town Circuit got a glimpse of the worship of Matrika, or the Mother Goddess, at temples across the Ekamra Kshetra and how the ancient temple makers have fo- cused on the social aspect of India, where the mother is always posi- tioned at the helm of all familial tra- ditions and occasions. Tour guide Satyaswarup Mishra explained how women and moth- ers received appropriate space in temple building and pointed at statues of mother and child on the walls of Mukteswar Temple, from where the Ekamra Walks begin.
Later at Parsurameswar Temple, Mishra also explained to the par- ticipants the Sapta Matrika (the seven forms of Shakti), which are represented as the seven furious forms of the Parvati, or Shakti. It is a fact that a mother can also be- come furious to protect her child from any danger. According to Hindu mythology and the traditional temple build- ing code or Shilpa Sashtra the temples were also designed as human bodies and there were al- ways number of statues repre- senting various forms of women, including mothers. “The Sapta Matrika concept is reflected inside no temple other than the Parasurameswar temple. However, in other places across the state, that is, in Jajpur town, Bajrakote in Dhenkanal and Padmapur in Rayagada district, there are Sapta Matrika images.
But the size and type of representa- tion of the seven forms of the mother goddess is unique in the Parasurameswar temple,” the guide added. The participants at Ekamra walk Sunday visited Mukteswar, Parasurameswar, Sampurna Jaleswar, Kotitirtheswar, Bindusagar, Ananta Vasudev, old Dharmasala, Lingaraj, Sari Deula, Mohini Temple, Parikrama of Bindusagar, Baitala temple and the medicinal plants garden at Ekamra Van on the Western bank of Bindusagar lake. Interestingly, despite rainy night and worries of rain in the early hours of the day, the participants were in full attendance at Mukteswar Temple, where the heritage tour of the Ekamra Kshetra starts. Doctoral scholars from IIT Roorkee Suryendu Dasgupta and wife Megha Tyagi joined the walk after arriving at the city Saturday evening.
“We heard about the walk from our common friends working as architects with the state gov- ernment and other academic in- stitutes and thought of joining the same. Today we are happy that we could fulfil our dream as the entire region is known for its unique temple style and architecture,” they observed. It can be noted here that on sev- eral occasions students from various IITs, architectural institu- tions across India and art and craft institutions, including noted scholars in the field of creative art have visited Ekamra Walks, Old Town Circuit, to study the tem- ple designs. Among others, Dhanraj HD, a probationer from Indian Forest Service, currently undergoing training at Gopabandhu Academy of Administration, Bhubaneswar, joined the heritage walk Sunday.
