About 500 m on the right from a turnoff on the
Tankapani Road (walkable from Rajarani Temple), the temple has a 3 m
lingam enshrined in its sanctum. It is learned that it was built by
Queen Kolavati, who got a linga enshrined, in her son's eighteen regnal
year at Ekamra. The 11th century brahmeshwar temple with four
smaller shrines at the corners, two enclosure walls, the inner one
following the sanctuary in its panch ratha plan, and the tank on the
southern side between the two, forms an attractive composition. As you
enter through a gateway in the high enclosure wall you face a small
cloth-covered image of Lakshmi. The sanctuary has a five fold vertical
division in the bada; the pabhaga and the varandah have rich carvings.
The lower section of the wall is ornamented alternately by khakhara
mundis. The central niches of the corner khakhara mundis contain
dikpalas, while those of the intermediary ones have mostly different
forms of Shiva. Here you can as well see captivating poses such as
slender maidens admiring themselves in mirrors and erotic couples. Like
the Muktesvara Temple, this temple also has internal embellishments in
the jagamohana showing infantry, cavalry, elephants and variety of
themes including worship of linga, a preceptor delivering discourse and
graceful female figures. The smaller subsidiary temples have same design
and architectural elements; however their gandis are left plain.
2 km south of the city centre, Bindu Sagar has the largest
group of temples clustered around it. This small artificial lake
believed to contain water from every sacred river in India, is held holy
by pilgrims bathing in it.
The Lingaraja deity is also brought here for a ritual bath
every year during the annual car festival of Bhubaneswar, Ashokastami.
