Bhubaneswar Vaital (Baitala) Deula Temple, Odisha

Address

Bhubaneswar Vaital (Baitala) Deula Temple, Barhadanda Road, Old Town, Bhubaneswar, Odisha 751002, India

Diety

Shiva

Introduction

The Vaital (Baitala) Deula Temple is located 100m west of Bindhu Sagar in Bhubaneswar old city, and shares the same temple compound as the now much encroached upon Sisiresvara Temple. The form of this temple is almost unique in Bhubaneswar, the only parallel I had seen in Odisha prior to this being the Varahi (Barahi) Deula Temple in Chaurasi. A rectangular sanctuary is roofed by a tower capped with a vaulted roof, very reminiscent of some temple architecture in south India, Sculptures are in ruins. Three sides of the exterior sanctuary wall contain niches with wonderful gracefully posed. In the middle of these panels are the deities; Durga spearing a demon buffalo (north), Parvati (south) and Ardhanarishvara (west). Bands of scrollwork frame each of the deities, with panels of animals and riders above. The tower is divided into horizontal elements, covered with friezes of miniature figures. The front (east) projection has figures of Surya riding his chariot driven by seven horses, with a dancing Shiva (Nataraja) above, framed decorated arches, makaras and carved monster heads surround these panels. Although Vaital (Baitala) Deula appears to share the same architectural style to that of its very close neighbour (Sisiresvara), it is widely thought to have been built slightly later. Scholars agree that construction of this temple probably occurred during the last quarter of the 8th century A.D, possibly by the Bhaumakara (Bhauma or Kar) dynasty queen Tribhuvana Mahadevi.