Nova Gokula Temple, Pindamonhangaba, Sao Paulo, BRAZIL

Nova Gokula Temple, Pindamonhangaba, Sao Paulo, BRAZIL

God (Brahma), Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia

Catur Muka (4 face) statue is a manifestation of the greatness of God (Brahma), Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia

vimana of Sundareswarar, called Indira Vimana,

The vimana of Sundareswarar, called Indira Vimana, is unique. supported by sculptures of eight massive elephants, called ashtadigh gajas, standing and facing in eight different directions. One of them is Iravatham, the elephant-vehicle of Indra. “No other temple in Tamil Nadu has this type of architecture, where ashtadigh gajas are supporting the vimana said K. Sridharan, retired Superintending Archaeologist, Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department. The Indra Vimana was built by Viswanathan Nayak

The leaning temple of Huma

The leaning temple of Huma

About 28 km from Sambalpur, in the state of Orissa lays the Huma Temple which is a leaning structure, considered as Indian equivalent of Leaning Tower of PISA. Experts are foxed by this temple because Silpasashtra, the traditional manual for temple architecture, does not mention such edifices.

Located on the banks of the river Mahanadi, the 17th century temple of Huma leans at an angle of 47 degrees to the west. Not only the main temple but also the smaller temples in the compound and the gateway lean, although at different angles! What is even more puzzling is that while the edifice leans, the pinnacle is perpendicular to the ground.

This temple, dedicated to Lord Bimaleswar, is a Saivite shrine in village Huma, 28 km Sambalpur, the premier western Orissa city.

Believed to have been built in 1670 A.D. by King Baliar Singh, the fifth king of Sambalpur's Chauhan dynasty, this temple has baffled historians and architects over the years. There have been some theories, none of them very convincing, that seek to explain the strange phenomenon. Some of the most popular theories are the tilt is due to some defect in construction, due to weak foundation, due to the displacement of the rock bed.

But there is no visible crack on the body of the temple which is a rather small structure. All these combine to disprove the theories and the impression gets credence that the temple would not lean unless built like that.

There is, however, a legend associated with this temple. The story goes that the lingam around which the temple is built was originally discovered by a cowherd. One of his cows would go into the jungle everyday and return without any milk. The bewildered cowherd followed the cow one day and was amazed to find the animal standing over a black rock spraying it with its milk. It did not take the cowherd long to realize that the rock was in fact a Sivalinga and he began worshipping the God there everyday

 

Mulbekh Chamba, Kargil(Jammu and Kashmir)

Mulbekh Chamba, Kargil(Jammu and Kashmir)
Ancient 9-metre rock sculpture in deep relief of Maitreya, the Future Buddha. Its execution combines esoteric Shaivite symbolism and early Buddhist art.

maybe Vishnu in Buddha Avatar because of the four arms !

Daitya Sudan temple

Daitya Sudan temple

Daitya Sudan Temple is a Vishnu temple dated to the Chalukya Dynasty which ruled Central and Southern India between the 6th and 12th centuries. It belongs to the Hemadpanthi class and is built in the form of an irregular star. It features carvings similar to those seen at Khajuraho temples. The deity of this temple is made of an ore with a high metal content that resembles stone. The ceiling of the temple has carvings. The exterior walls are also covered with carved figures. The plinth of the temple is about 1.5 m in height and the unfinished roof suggests an intended pyramidal form for the tower.















The temple of Daitya Sudan at Lonar is the best example of the Hemadpanthi style. From the standing image of Surya in the principal niche on the back of the temple it is conjectured that the temple was originally dedicated to the Sun god. However, in the present form its vaishnav temple of god vishnu in its daityasudan avatar. There is a story that a demon by the name of Lonasur or Lavanasur used to reside in this locality along with his sisters. He was killed by lord Vishnu in his Daityasudan Avatar hence the name.

The temple measures 105 ft. long by 84.5 ft. broad. It is a tree chamber temple, the inner most being garbh grub, the sanctum sanctorum, where the idol of lord vishnu standing atop lavanasur is there. The present day idol was made by bholse rulers of Nagpur after the original went missing. The second chamber is called antarl where individual pooja are performed, on the roof of this block one can see beautiful cravings of puranic stories viz. Killing of Lavanasur by Lord Krishna and appearance of Dhar of Lonar; story of Kansa and Krishna, story of Narasimha and HiranKashyap and lastly raskrida. The outermost chamber is called as sabhamandap which is meant for group offerings and performance. This portion as well as the entrance gate does not match the style and construction elements of the temple overall. The brickwork might have been added later to the damaged or unfinished temple, which may be attributed to various invasions post the 10th century.

The main entrance of the temple is east facing. The principle niche at the back of the temple has an image of Surya, the sun god, which gives rise to the speculation that this might have been dedicated to him. The niche on south has an image of Chamunda. The one on left of the temple i.e. north has narashima in it. All of these 3 niches are built like mini temples in themselves having elaborate pillars, base and decoration.

There are nemorous ridges onto the temple with different decoration, images having iconic as well as artistic significance. Many of the images depict deities or incidents on Hindu purans

Chennakesava Temple, Somanathapura, Karnatka

Very intricately carved ceiling of Chennakesava Temple, Somanathapura

Photo Credit: Somenaath Deb