Back in the 10th century, the rulers of Somavamsi dynasty built a magnificent temple with amazing stone carvings in the memories of the Pancha Pandavas’ stay at Ganeswarpur in Cuttack
During the secret exile of the Pandavas; they stayed here in this place for a few days. While the junior four Pandavas used to reside in this very place under the Jalauka hills, the eldest brother Yudhisthir and their mother Kunti lived in a nearby village Rudrapur
Deepak Kumar Nayak| Heritage enthusiast
Cuttack: The 10th century AD ‘Panchu Pandava’ temple is a Somavamsi dynasty built monument located in Ganeswarpur village of Cuttack. The temple complex is at a distance of around 25 kilometres from Cuttack city and 3 kilometres away from famous ‘Chhatia Batta’ temple of Jajpur.
The makeover by the ASI team was long overdue.
Interacting with Orissa POST, Deepak Kumar Nayak, a heritage enthusiast from Cuttack elaborated the folklore. “During the secret exile of the Pandavas (in the Mahabharata era); they stayed here in this place for a few days. While the junior four Pandavas used to reside in this very place under the Jalauka hills, the eldest brother Yudhisthir and their mother Kunti had lived in a nearby village Rudrapur.”
The Pandavas used to worship Lord Krishna (Vishnu) during their secret stay here, he added.
Back in the 10th century, the rulers of Somavamsi dynasty built a magnificent temple with amazing stone carvings in the memories of the Pancha Pandavas’ stay here. The presiding deity of the temple was Lord Krishna with consorts Rukmini and Satyabhama; having his temple in the middle of the complex surrounded by four other minor temples dedicated to four junior Pandavas. The temple was one of the most visited religious shrines of the medieval period in Odisha. Pandit Kedarswara, a worker from the ASI department, said, “Somewhere in the 16th century the majestic temple was demolished by Muslim invader ‘Kalapahada’. He destroyed more than 80 per cent of the main temple and damaged the deity idol. Now you can only find three temples present.”
However, the damaged stone idol of Lord Krishna is still being worshiped. The broken stone arches of the temples prove that it was indeed attacked. ASI is making sure to reconstruct it to its past glory. A park has been created on the foot of the hill that makes it an even better place to spend and enjoy your time and also reminds one of the state history.
ASI has also planned a documentary to showcase these amazing temples.
Describing the architecture of the temple, Deepak added that the exterior of the temple is decorated with architectural motifs such as Vajramundi, Khakharamundi, pilaster design, decorative motifs like Chaitya medallion, Kirtimukha, Purnakumbha and Nayikas.
“The vimana is pancharatha on plan and triangabada in elevation and it is a panchyatana temple in which the north-eastern corner shrine is missing. The vimana and jagamohana are in dilapidated condition whereas the corner shrines are in good state of preservation and are of Rekha order of Kalingan style. Khandolite blocks are used for the construction of the temple and the pista and laterite for the compound walls.”
HOW TO REACH
- The temple complex is 25 kilometres from Cuttack city
- It is 3 kilometres away from famous ‘Chhatia Batta’ temple of Jajpur