Els Slots

The Netherlands - 21-Nov-24 -

Ekamra Kshetra is easily overlooked because of its name which doesn’t give a clue to outsiders about what it represents. Translated from the Sanskrit it means “place with mango trees” and it comprises the temple city quarter of Bhubaneswar. The site has numerous temples and ponds, all part of a geomantic Hindu city plan which is shaped like a mandala. The well-written Tentative Site description lists being "a complete Hindu city" and "a living site" as its Unique Selling Points. It compares itself to Varanasi, which is unique in its own right of course, but the people from Bhubaneswar say Ekamra Kshetra is much better managed.

To prepare for a visit, I recommend consulting the Wikivoyage page on Bhubaneswar: it has a very good and recent overview of most temples and other places of interest in this area. There are on-site information panels as well at every temple of some significance.

I started my exploration at the Rajarani temple. It lies across the road from the other main temples (BTW: use the Maps.me location, the one on Google Maps is wrong). This is a single temple surrounded by a manicured lawn with flower beds, a set-up clearly recognizable as directed by the ASI. There’s an entrance fee as well, the usual 300rs for a Tentative Site. I asked whether this would give me access to all temples in Ekamra Kshetra, but that wasn’t the case! Fortunately, most of the other temples are managed by religious caretakers and require no fee. The Rajarani temple has some good exterior carvings, but is empty on the inside (it’s one of the few that isn’t in religious use anymore).

I then walked to the main temple zone, which has been sanitized / beautified by the city council in 2020 and is indeed pleasant for strolling. The first large temple you come across is the Muktesvara temple, the one I ended up liking the most. It dates from 950 but is still in use – there were a few people praying. It stands out for its torana (arched gateway) and decoration scheme displaying monkey behaviour.

Further north I came across the Parasurameswar temple. This is one of the oldest, dating from the 7th century. Its heavily decorated exterior is better-preserved than many of the younger temples around – no iconoclasm by the Mughals has happened here. The temple keeper welcomed me in and had some interesting details to tell about his temple (he wanted a donation of course, but he sang for his supper). There’s a sanctum here with active worship, but the rest of the interior has the same simple straight columns as everywhere else – the keeper said they date from the British period (1903) and were meant to stabilize the construction. 

Central to the whole city plan is the Bindusagar Tank, a large pond used for ritual washing and with a small temple at its center. All around it, I encountered holy men and women offering their consultations while “holding office” on the pavement. 

The road ends at the Lingarah Temple, the main focus of Hindu worshippers at Ekamra Kshetra. Unfortunately, access is not allowed for non-Hindus, but you can watch the grounds from a viewing tower. The red-and-white structure is placed against the outer wall right around the corner from the entrance. The views are quite good indeed, but be aware that the sun's position isn’t favourable when you visit in the morning. Better save it for the late afternoon, which is the case as well for several other temples, such as the Rajarani.

Overall, Ekamra Kshetra isn’t an undiscovered Bagan – yes there are many temples, with construction dates spanning a period of 2,000 years, but the differences between them are subtle. I did enjoy Bhubaneswar overall (the Odisha State Museum should not be missed!) and it is a good hub for the Konark Sun Temple, so while you’re there anyway you can spend a pleasant 2-3 hours at Ekamra Kshetra too.

Read more from Els Slots here.

Priyaranjan Mohapatra

India/USA - 25-Jan-22 -

This wonderful temple city complex. esp. after the recent cleanup by the provincial Government of Odisha ; unfolds in an array of majestic structures that one can go back 1200 years to visualize how life was back then ! 

Very Ornate group of temples, ponds , cultural stages, etc

Its an inexcusable miss either by UNESCO to not have it listed , or  a case not well presented by the government to the World body! 

It's older (800 AD)  than the nearby Shri Jagannath temple in Puri, (about 1000 AD) which itself older than UNESCO listed Konark Sun temple (1200 AD).

Zoë Sheng

Chinese-Canadian - 10-Dec-18 -

Ekamra Kshetra is the old town of Bubhaneswar. It contains nearly a hundred temples according to the map I saw on one of the buildings, with the offices document stating 199 and there used to be 700. Getting around is easy on foot if you want but be prepared to take the whole day. I found that most of them are very, very similar but maybe I'm just ignorant. I had a driver/guide for half a day which would be continue to then Sun Temple and end at Chiliak lake mid-evening. I also went to Dhauli up on a hill on the outskirts and its popularity was even more than the town. I think it is part of the nomination as well and has a fancy Ashuka pillar nearby as well.

In most temples the people are inviting to enter freely. It often takes more effort to wear/remove shoes than look at the temple structures because they can be so small. It being sandstone they have eroded a lot and the simple gates aren't exactly security, but I believe the locals really respect their heritage. Some of the better temples are Rajarani and Muktesvara (which the guide kept pronouncing differently for some reason). There is, however, one temple that stands out.

Lingaraj is the biggest temple at Bubhaneswar smack in the middle of old town. I'll come right to be main problem: chances are you can't go inside. It is only for Hindu. Security will smell tourists from miles away, or more likely see a white face with photo camera slung around the shoulder and know you aren't here for worshipping. There are no phones and cameras allowed inside anyway, not any bag, and storing stuff at the lockers isn't free, so don't even show up with any. There was a case of an Indian celebrity getting accused and fined for shooting pictures inside quite recently. God knows how she got to keep her phone. Alright so what the guide told me is to look the part: get a tilaka, wear some garlands over a dress (obviously easier for girls) and go in with at least one more person who speaks Hindi to back you up. I don't really want to encourage it but in my opinion if one respects the site and religion and blends in it doesn't do much harm.

Like most small temples in the area it features artisan's carvings at every corner including some “Kama sutra” ones. If you mainly care to see that and haven't seen enough on your India journey yet then consider if the smaller temples aren't enough to see. The surrounding wall contains several sub-temples to explore, with some less popular than others. The guide told me not to to stare around like a tourist so the entire time was more of a sneaky affair that I wanted over with quickly. Imagine being in Mecca and scared to be found out, just not as bad. If you don't go inside you can get a decent view from the lake. The biggest tower also gets the most attention inside even without the extra selfie posers.

Whereas I don't quite fully understand its significance of temples, there are already many similar inscriptions for other religions that seem similar in sacred houses. I was reading that the inscriptions should be accessed by tourists but it only came from the newspapers, yet I could see this having a low priority for India with the lack of tourism boost it would get. There were several tourists in the temples around town already and I don't think guests will always know it's off-limits to visit until arrival - I know I didn't. One can still expire and enjoy plenty of the other temples and the caves.

Shyamanuja Das

India - 10-Jul-17 -

Ekamra Kshetra - Bhubaneswar is unique in the sense that its monuments are not restricted to one large temple complex. Rather, the temples and caves are spread over a large part of the city and there are people living all around. Yet, the monuments are beautifully preserved. Unlike many other temples and pilgrimage sites, Bhubaneswar is extremely clean. What is more, even in the modern central city, the heritage of the state is clearly visible