Huma Bimaleswar (Leaning) Temple- Odisha

Address

Huma Bimaleswar (Leaning) Temple- Huma, Tabada, Sambalpur District, Odisha 768113

Diety

Bimaleswar

Introduction

The temple of Huma is a dedicated to Lord Shiva called as Bimaleswara / Vimaleswara, located in Huma village in Sambalpur District in Odisha, India. The Leaning Temple of Huma in India is one of only two leaning temples in the world. The temple is located on the left bank of the river Mahanadi at the confluence with Dhuli Jor. It is a protected monument maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India, Bhubaneswar Circle.

Puranic Significance

The temple was built by Anangabhima Deva III, Emperor of Eastern Ganga Dynasty. The temple received extensive patronage from Balarama Deva (1575 – 1595 CE), the first Chauhan ruler of Sambalpur. The temple was heavily renovated by King Baliar Singh (1660–1690 CE), the fifth Chauhan king of Sambalpur. The rest of the temples were built during the rule of King Ajit Singh (1766–1788 CE) of Sambalpur. The temple is a protected monument of Odisha State Archaeology and under the Endowment Department, Government of Orissa As per legend, a cowherd from nearby Chaunrpur used to take his cows to the forest on the river bank. It is said that the village Chaunrpur on the right bank of the river Mahanadi is said to be the seat of Raja Balaram Dev, before he set up his capital at Sambalpur. Once, the cowherd noticed that a black cow from his herd didn’t produce any milk. He noticed the black cow from his herd disappeared regularly at a particular time every day. He was curious to know about the disappearance and followed the cow. It was raining heavily, and the river was flowing in full capacity. To his surprise, he saw the cow crossing the river Mahanadi with ease. He observed the cow going towards a stone and pouring its milk on a mysterious stone. He informed this miraculous incident to the villagers and everybody realized the divine presence of Lord Shiva in the form of Linga. Later, a temple was built for housing the Linga. As per legend, the temple was leaning from its initial stage of construction. It is said that Lord Bimaleswara himself desired to have a leaning temple for him. Hence, King Baliar Singh built a leaning temple for Bimaleswar. The temple is situated on a rocky outcrop on the bank of the river Mahanadi and is facing towards east. The temple is built over a rectangular platform of 200 feet length and 120 feet width. The main shrine of Lord Bimaleswara / Vimaleswara is clearly inclined towards the North east side i.e. the river side. The shrine has tilted towards the left in approximately 840 inclinations. This Shrine is facing towards east. It is often compared with the Leaning Tower of Pisa of Italy due to its inclination. The main shrine consists of rekha vimana, flat roofed jagamohana and a newly built pillared nandi mandapa. Both the vimana & jagamohana are square on plan and stands on a high platform. The shrine is Pancharatha on plan. It houses the presiding deity in the form of Patalphuta Shiva Linga within a circular yonipitha. The shrine is plain and devoid of sculptural embellishment. The main shrine is tilted to one direction while the remaining shrines in the complex are tilted to other directions. It is said that the angle of inclination has remained constant over last 50 years. There are many theories behind the leaning structure of the shrine. One is the architect has deliberately made a leaning design from the beginning in order to safeguard the temple from the violent currents of the two rivers namely Mahanadi and Dhulijore during the flood in monsoon. Other reason is the interior displacement of the rocky bed on which it stands, either due to flood currents in the river Mahanadi, or earthquakes. The plinth of the temple has deviated slightly from its original arrangement, and as a result, the body of the temple has tilted. The tilt may be due to a geological reason; the underlying rock may be uneven in structure. The angle of inclination of the tilt is 13.8 degrees.

Special Features

Lord Bimaleswara is considered as the earliest (Adya Sambhu) among the Ashta Sambhu (8 Shiva Lingas) of the surrounding region. The other Shiva Lingas are Kedarnath at Ambhavana, Biswanath at Deogaon, Barada Balunkeswar at Gaisama, Maneswar at Maneswar, Swapneswar at Sorna, Bisweswara at Soranda and Nilakantheswar at Niljee. Bhairavi Devi & Bhairava Shrine: Bhairavi Devi Shrine is situated to the left of the sanctum and Bhairava Shrine is situated to the right of the sanctum. Bhubanesvara Shrine: This shrine is situated inside the temple complex. This shrine is facing towards west. It has a small leaning rekha vimana similar to the main shrine. The vimana is square on plan. The shrine is Pancharatha on plan and triangabada in elevation. It houses a Shiva Linga within a circular yonipitha. The shrine is plain and devoid of sculptural embellishments. Kapilesvara Shrine: This shrine is situated inside the temple complex. This shrine is facing towards west. It has a small leaning rekha vimana similar to the main shrine. The vimana is square on plan. The shrine is Pancharatha on plan and triangabada in elevation. It houses a Shiva Linga within a circular yonipitha. The shrine is plain and devoid of sculptural embellishments. Other Shrines: Shrines of Maneswara, Jagannath, Hanuman, Aruna Stambha, Varaha, Parvati, Ganesha and Nandis can be found in the temple premises. Kudo Fish: There is a special variety of reddish fish, popularly called as Kudo, in the Mahanadi river. Thus, the river ghat came to be called as Machindra ghat. The water of Machindra ghat is considered to be sacred. Devotees take their bath here before offering puja to the deity.