Parasurameswara Temple

History

Architectural historians date the compact deula to roughly the seventh–eighth century, making it a reference point for later Somavamshi monuments such as Mukteshwar and Brahmeswara.

Odisha Tourism’s temple-tour itinerary schedules Parsurameswar on the Bhubaneswar day with Rajarani, Mukteshwar, and Ananta Basudeva, confirming its place in the official Ekamra circuit.

Stories

A Shailodbhava Temple of the Seventh Century

Parasurameswara is regarded as the best-preserved early temple of Odisha and one of the oldest in Bhubaneswar. It was built by the Shailodbhava dynasty, whose family deity was Shiva. Most scholars favour a mid-seventh-century date, around 650 CE as K. C. Panigrahi proposed, partly because only eight planets, not the later nine, appear over the sanctum door. A few place it in the early eighth century. The Archaeological Survey of India now maintains it.

The First Temple With a Hall of Worshippers

Earlier temples in Bhubaneswar consisted only of the sanctum tower, the vimana. Parasurameswara is the first to add a jagamohana, a hall where devotees gather, an arrangement that became standard in Odisha's temple architecture. Though dedicated to Shiva, it carries sculpted images of the Saptamatrikas, the seven mother goddesses, which are usually found in Shakta temples. The tower rises to about 12 metres.

Parashurashtami and a Protected Monument

Parasurameswara is a ticketed monument under the Archaeological Survey of India, repaired in 1903 with some changes to the roof of the inner sanctum while keeping most of the original structure. Its major festival is Parashurashtami, celebrated around June to July each year, and it is a regular stop on Odisha Tourism's temple tour of Bhubaneswar with Mukteshwar and Lingaraj.

Good to know

Among the oldest stone temples in the temple city

Reference point for later temples such as Mukteshwar

Clustered with Mukteshwar and Lingaraj in Old Town

Getting there

Biju Patnaik International Airport, Bhubaneswar. Bhubaneswar railway station; short auto ride to Old Town.