The
great Lingaraja (eleventh century), which soars above the city of Bhubaneswar
and dominates the landscape as far as 15 kms away, represents Orissan temple
architecture at its most mature and fully developed stage. It has, in fact,
been described as 'time quintessence of Orissan architecture'. The deul (tower)
of the Lingaraja reaches a height of just over 180 feet (55 meters). It is completely
curvilinear, and the extraordinary soaring tower can be seen to incorporate
miniature replicas of itself, in turrets inserted on the ribs of the spire.
By the time the Lingaraja temple was constructed, the Jagannath cult had become
predominant throughout Orissa. This is reflected in the fact that the temple
deity here, the Svayambhu linga, is not, as in all other cases, strictly a Shiva
linga. It is considered to be a 'hari-hara' linga, that is, half Shiva, half
Vishnu.
There are 150 subsidiary shrines within the immense Lingaraja complex, many
of them extremely interesting in their own right. Unfortunately, they cannot
be visited by non-Hindus.
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