Temples In India

Odisha Gosagaresvar Precinct Siva Temple

This temple that dates back to many years ago belongs to the precinct style and is predominantly privately owned, though there are multiple owners of this temple currently. This is currently managed by Nalinikanta Panda and Tutu Panda. This temple has Lord Shiva as the main deity with a circular Yoni pitha. Currently, Mahendra Mohapatra and Bhaga Garabadu are the main priests of the temple.

History

The word, Go, in Sanskrit means, cow. Cows are considered to be very holy in the Hindu religion. The story prevailing around this temple is as follows: Lord Shiva committed an unintentional mistake of killing a cow once and therefore he was believed to have become sinful. In order to cleanse himself from his sins, Lord Shiva had to take bath in the pond of the Gosagaresvar temple and worship the main deity. Therefore, even today, people who unknowingly kill cows are believed to be forgiven if they come to this temple and immerse themselves in the holy pond of the temple. This belongs to the precinct type and has the Pidha deul typology.

Architecture

This temple has a pista that is very low that is 2.70m long and 2.30m wide and 0.40m tall. This temple has a vimana and a porch facing front. The porch measures 2.35m in length and 2.15m in width. The architectural pattern belongs to the pancharatha type. The raha belongs to the central area and it has anuratha pagas and kanika pagas on both its sides. When elevated, the vimana belongs to pidha order and measures up to 3.36m tall right from the pabhaga to the kalasa.

The temple contains the bada, gandi and mastaka. The bada is triangular in pattern like most of the temples in Orissa and is totally 1.36m, out of which pabhaga is 0.48, jangha is 0.64m and the baranda is 0.24m. The gandi that is placed on top of the baranda is 1.10m tall. The mastaka, like all the temples in this region is made up of beki, ghanta, amalaka and kalasa, is 0.90m tall.

The doorjambs are quite attractive and add some decoration to the otherwise serene temple.  These are 1.40m tall and 0.64m wide and most of the grahas are vacant because of the renovation work going on in the places which have been worn and torn. This temple is currently in use and hence it is kept it in a good condition. Sandstone was the basic material used for building the temple and dry masonry was the construction style. This temple was constructed according to the Kalinga style of architecture. All repairs and renovation work was done by the Orissa government and currently, the temple is fully maintained by the local people of Gosagaresvar.

How To Reach

By Air

Bhubaneswar is the nearest airport for this temple and tourists can heave a sigh of relief as this well connected with all the cities in the country, either through direct or connecting flights.

By Rail

Bhubaneswar railway station is the main station that is nearest to the temple. This station is one of the busiest in the country with lots of trains going to and from the city.

By Road

This temple is currently in use and therefore, there are numerous cab services and cars operated by the government and private companies from all the main cities in Orissa like Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Konark and Puri.

Important Shrines

This temple is flanked by different shrines in the vicinity like the Gosagaresvar tank in the west, the famous Sanisvara Siva temple in the south and the compound walls of the other Gosagaresvar temples in the north.

Significance Of The Temple

This temple is culturally very rich and there are lots of festivals like Sivarathri, Astaprahari, Sankranthi etc. are celebrated with huge fervour here as there are lots of tourists from all over the country visiting this temple during these festivals.

Attraction

Tourists who visit this temple have lots of options in and around this temple to visit like the Astasambhu Siva temples, Patalesvara Siva temples, Lingaraj temple, Konark Sun temple, Puri Jagannath temple, Anant Vasudeva temple, etc.

Weather And Time To Visit

The climate in the city of Bhubaneswar is amazingly pleasant during the months of September to November as it signals the offset of the winter season and the end of the summer season. This is the best time to visit this temple. Mahashivarathri (feb/mar) is one of the most celebrated festivals here.

Accommodation

The devotees find a difficult time in choosing an accommodation of their choice as Bhubaneswar is bubbling with lots of hotels that suit the different needs and specification of the tourists. There are government and private facilities that offer accommodation facilities at affordable rates.

Tips For Devotees

This is a temple that cleanses devotees of the sins that they commit by killing cows. Hence, once inside the temple, the devotees should be very sincere and remain stoic and silent at all times when they visit the temple.

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