1,000 Shiva lingas carved on a monolith is called a Sahasralinga and there are around five such lingas in Old Town area of Bhubaneswar
BHUBANESWAR: Three heritage enthusiasts organised a heritage walk to explore the Sahasralingas at the Old Town area here Sunday. The trio attracted several others too to witness this exploration of the 1,000 Shiva lingas carved on a monolith linga during its two-hour-long walk. The walk was one of those occasions which let history lovers witness some of the less discovered Kalingan architectural marvels.
From early morning onwards, the team gathered at Parshurameswar along Kedargouri lane and fed their eyes upon the stunning Sahasralinga there. The team later moved on to Subarna Jaleswar in Kotitirtheswar lane, the second Sahasralinga site. With every step the members were taking, the excitement was only growing more and more. The trio— Taranisen Patnaik, Deepak Kumar Nayak and Gitanjali Mohanty— was seen diving deep into the history, culture and architecture of the bygone Kalinga era. The crowd accompanying the trio was witnessing history unfold in front of it, though not with visuals but with the trio’s conversations that were painting it.
From there (Subarna Jaleswar) they went to Pataleswar temple, which is just before Ananta Basudeva temple on the eastern ghat of Bindusagar.
The scenery and the quaint environ of Bindusagar simply bewitched the walkers. The Sahasralinga there, locally known as Surya Dev, excited the walkers more as the trio shared a legend about it.
The walkers’ next stop was Brahma temple ghat, which is opposite to Ananta Basudeva temple.
Interacting with Orissa POST, Taranisen Patnaik said, “Exploring Sahasralingas is an exciting heritage affair and we all are enjoying it. Many didn’t know that there is not just one but three Ananta Basudeva temples in Old Town. All three of them are nearby each other.”
He elaborated saying the first Ananta Basudev temple was built by Bhaumakaras in 7th century and has now been converted into a Ram Sita Hanuman temple. The second one was built by the Somavamsi dynasty in 9th century, adjacent to Ananda Bazaar. The third one was by the Eastern Gangas in 13th century.
The team went to visit the fourth Sahasralinga, a rare Ekamukhalinga, near the Kshetrabasi Nijog Mandap. Although damaged yet it was a pleasure treat for the eyes.
The final stop was at the majestic 13th century Jameswar temple at Badheibanka Sahi chowk where the team located another Sahasralinga.
The walk wrapped around 9 am.