Shiva Temples in Odisha
- Dhabaleswar Temple, Cuttack- Dhabaleswar is one of the prominent Shiva temples in Odisha. It is located on an island and was built in the 14th century. Legends say once a thief stole a black calf and ran to the temple and hid there. The villagers could not enter the temple to fetch him rather waited outside. The thief prayed to Lord Shiva to save him. Lord appeared in the form of Sage and bought the thief and turned the black calf into white and saved him. The thief confessed and dedicated his life to Lord Shiva.
- Ankhandlamani Temple, Aradi- This famous Shiva shrine is located near the river Baitarani. The story behind goes like this. During the rule of Raja Sri Niladri Samara Singha, a peasant broke his plough by hitting something hard. He was shocked to see a pull of blood flowing from a glazed granite stone towards the river. He then ran to the king and when the king arrived all he could see was a flood of milk and a Cobra around the stone. The king then built a wooden temple to worship the Lord and the present one is built by Shri Harihar Bhanja.
- Lingaraj Temple, Bhubaneswar- This is the largest temple in the temple city of Bhubaneswar. The temple was built in the 11th century AD. Lingaraj means the king of lingas and the temple is built by Somvashi king Yayati Keshari I. The temple also has an architectural significance and is built with red stone is a classic example of the Kalinga style of Architecture.
- Goraknath Temple, Jagatsinghpur- It is a part of the Nath tradition founded by Baba Gorakhnath which is a great following in Hinduism. Baba Gorakhnath was a great philosopher and yogi. He meditated under a banyan tree until a hill of ant grew on him and people makes wishes and tie sacred threads around it. The famous Shiva temple presents Nepali and Kalinga styles of architecture.
- Kailash Temple, Dhenkanal- One of the prominent temples of Lord Shiva is also known as Mahadev Chandrasekhar Temple. The temple was built by King Narasingha Deva I of the Ganga Dynasty. Some scholars say this is the second home or Kailash for Shiva.
- Panchalingeswar Temple, Balasore- The temple is located in Balasore near the Niligiri Hill. The five lingas here were enshrined by Sita during the exile period. The temple was discovered by king Krishna Chandra Mardaraj Harichandan and there are a total of 209 steps to climb to the shrine.
- Gupteswar Temple, Koraput- The temple is a cave with a linga in it which increases its size as per popular belief. The cave is made of limestone and is a famous shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva. Scriptures say that Lord Rama when passed through this region on his way to Panchabati. It is also popularly known as Gupta Kedra Shabari (a scenic beauty of beauty that flows aside it).
- Huma Temple, Sambalpur- The temple is located at the bank of the Mahanadi River in Huma. The temple is tilted and is one of only two leaning temples in the world. The reason behind the titled structure and it is assumed to be constructional flaw.
- Lokanath Temple, Puri- The temple is located in Puri and the linga is always underwater. This indicated the flow of the river Ganga and it is believed that Lord Rama has established it. Local people say that the longa has powers to cure diseases.
- Belakhandi Temple, KAlakhandi- The temple is situated on two rivers Tel and Uttei which are two tributaries of Mahanadi. A police inspector in 1940 got a dream of Linga being buried and dug it found a big linga of Chlorite stone. Presently the temple is made of the collapsed structure of the old temple. The temple is also referred to as “Dhabaleswar Temple” of Belkhandi