Bhubaneswar Talesvara Temple, Odisha

Address

Bhubaneswar Talesvara Temple Gouri Nagar, Old Town, Bhubaneswar, Odisha 751002, India

Diety

Talesvara Amman: Parvati

Introduction

The partially ruined 9th century Talesvara (Taleswara) Temple is located on Kedar Gouri Road, approx 150m west of Parasuramesvara Temple. Set within a small garden, the east-facing temple is in private ownership, despite the fact that much of the temple’s structure was lost long ago. The sanctum doorway is quite well preserved, although now covered with white paint, the lintel is carved with the Navagraha, but note there that only eight celestrial bodies, Ketu is missing. An interesting image can be viewed in a niche on the north-facing exterior of the sanctum. This is a one-legged Shiva (Shiva-Ekapada, treated as a form of Bhairava in Odisha), with open mouth, protruding fangs, small beard, bulging eyes and an erect phallus. This is a living temple, the presiding deity being a Shiva linga with a circular Yoni pitha. In the south-east corner of the temple compound is an ancient well made of laterite blocks.