dhenkanal

This temple is 72 kms from Dhenkanal town Kualo is famous for housing a plethora of temples dedicated to Lord Kanakeswar, Baidyanath, Paschimeswar, Balunkeswar and Kapileswar. In its ruined form, the temple of Kanakeswar is about 24 meters high and preserves some of the earliest specimens of sculptures representing ancient temple building activities in Odisha.
 

Sixty seven kms from Dhenkanal is the Anantasyi image of Lord Vishnu, on the rocky bed of the river Brahmani at Saranga. The hoods of Ananta, the serpent king spreads over the head of Lord Vishnu as the crown and cover. The primal lotus, housing Brahma, the creator, originates from Vishnu’s navel, the Supreme Being enjoying deep delight of his cosmic sleep in the waters of the river Brahmani.

Famous as the religious headquarters of ‘Mahima Dharma’, Joranda houses the samadhi of Mahima Gosain, the preacher propounder of the Mahima Cult, the other sacred temples are the ‘Sunya Mandira’, ‘Dhuni Mandira’ and ‘Gadi Mandira’ Pilgrims in large numbers pour forth to Joranda fair held on full moon day of Magha which falls in January February every year.
 

It is one of the famous Saiva Pitha of Odisha and also a well known tourist place. This place is allegedly known as Second Kailash. The Kapilas is situated above 2239 feet above sea level. The way to the temple consists of 1352 steps. The temple was constructed in 1246 AD by King Narasinghdevam I. Marichi kunda & Payamruta kunda exists on right and left side respectively of the main temple. Apart from the holy shrine linga of Shiva one can found the sculptures of other Gods and Goddess like Ganesha, Kartikeya and Gangadevi etc. Jagannath Temple, Viswanath Temple and Parsva Deva Temple are also situated in Kapilas.
 

Naganatheswar temple belongs to Sri Sri Naganatheswar Shiva and it is at village ’Nagena ’, about 20 kms from Dhenkanal. It is the most ancient Saiva temple and was constructed during the reign of the Keshari dynasty. According to scholar Pandit Nagendranath Mohapatra’s Naganath Satakam, it is one of the 12 Jyotir Lingas. In the Shotras of the ’Awashyotirlinga ’, one of the Jyotir Linga is in the Daruka Vana or Neem forest. This Neem forest is still there in the premises. The sloka of Dwadasha Yotir Linga says that Naganath temple is situated in the southernmost part of Anga Kingdom. It shows that during some time in history, that part of Kalinga touched Anga border. However, nearer to it, there is the debris of a fort which is still unidentified. Here, the river Brahmani turns to north and is as holy as the Ganges.