Chintamanisvara Siva Temple

Chintamaniswar Siva Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Siva located in Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa, India. It is situated at the end of the Chintamaniswar road branching from Cuttack - Puri road near the Old Station Bazar. The temple faces towards west and the enshrined deity is a Siva lingam with a yonipitha.The TempleThe temple dates back to 14th century A.D. According to local legend the temple was built by the Kesharis (Somavamsis). Various religious sacraments like Sivaratri, Siva vivaha, jalasaya, rudrabhisekha are performed here. Marriage and thread ceremonies are held here.Architectural featuresOn plan, the temple has a square sanctum, the vimana is of rekha order. From bottom to the top the temple has a bada, gandi and mastaka. There are fivefold divisions the panchanga bada and at the base the pabhaga has a set of five mouldings i.e. khura, kumbha, pata, kani and basanta. Khura portion of the temple has partly been buried. Jangha is segmented into tala jangha and upara jangha by a set of three mouldings of the bandhana, baranda with seven mouldings. The gandi is devoid of any decoration and the mastaka as with Orissan temples has components like beki, amalaka, khapuri and kalasa.Eastern niche enshrines a four armed Kartikeya image. His major left is in varadamudra and right hand holds a mace. His uplifted back left hand holds a cock and his right hand is held over the head of the peacock. Southern niche houses a four armed Ganesha image who is holding rosary in his major right hand and modaka patra in his left hand. His uplifted back right hand holds an ankusa while his left hand holds a broken tooth(tusk).The northern raha niche houses goddess Parvati.