Bharati Matha Burial Temple – IV
Template:New unreviewed article
New article name is Bharati Matha Burial Temple - IV The temple is located at Lat. 200 14’ 43”N, Long. 850 49’ 93”E, Elev., 86ft. It is located in the South –western corner of Bharati Matha in Badheibanka Chowk, Old Town, Bhubaneswar.
In the Bharati Matha Burial Temple there are nine burial – temples located in the south – western corner. These small shrines are located within an enclosure segregating them from the main activity area of the Matha. Each of them is built in conformity with the temple building tradition of Orissa and enshrines a Siva lingam within a yonipitha in the sanctum sanctorum (cella/garbha griha). In the past they were under regular worship and now all of them are abandoned and survive in different state of preservation. They, however, constituted an integral part of the Matha establishment in the past. As the legend goes, according to the Matha legend as narrated by the Matha Mahanta , they are the Samadhi (burial) of previous Matha Mahantas. As per the Matha tradition, the Mahantas, by virtue of their religious merits, do not die like ordinary human beings. They announce, beforehand the day and time of their last breath or the state of Samadhi. Accordingly, arrangements are made for nomination of the successor and last rites of the Mahanta. After nomination of the successor he is ceremonially seated in a dugout pit where he is given a parting send off over an elaborate ritual and finally buried. Within a fortnight of the burial a temple is erected on the spot and a Siva lingam with a yoni pitha is enshrined in the sanctum in recognition of his religious merits and contributions for the wellbeing of the mankind. The ownership belongs to multiple parties. The approximate date of the temple is still unknown. The property type is precinct having the sub type as Burial temple. The typology is Pidha deul. Currently the temple is abandoned and no worship is undertaken. The temple is surrounded by Bharati Matha building in east, Talesvara temple in West, compound wall of the burials in north and south. The temple is facing towards east. The burial temple stands on a low platform measuring 2.60 square mtrs with a height of 0.49 mtrs. The temple measures 2.28 square mtrs. The Vimana is of pidha order having bada, gandi and mastaka that measures 3.32 mtrs. in height from bada to mastaka. The bada of the temple measures 1.62 mtrs in height. The gandi of the temple is set in three receding tiers measuring 1.90 mtrs in height. The mastaka as usual in Orissan temple has components like beki, ghanta, amalaka and kalasa measuring 0.80 mtrs in height. The doorjambs of the vimana measure 1.23 mtrs in height and 0.57 mtrs in width.
Laterite is used for construction, while the technique is mainly Ashlar masonry with cement plaster with kalingan style of design. The temple is in a bad state of preservation and is infested by the growth of vegetation all over the structure. The Date of Documentation is 22.12.2006 by Dr. Sadasiba Pradhan & team. Bharati Matha Burial Temple – V (one of the nine burial temples)
The co-ordinates are Lat. 20014’ 43”N, Longitude 850 49’ 93”East, Elevation, 86feet. Temple is situated in the South –western corner of Bharati Matha in BadheibankaChowk, Old Town, Bhubaneswar.
In the Bharati Matha Burial Temple there are nine burials – temples located in the south – western corner. These small shrines are located within an enclosure segregating them from the main activity area of the Matha. Each of them is built in conformity with the temple building tradition of Orissa and enshrines a Siva lingam within a yonipitha in the sanctum sanctorum (cella/garbha griha). In the past they were under regular worship and now all of them are abandoned and survive in different state of preservation. They, however, constituted an integral part of the Matha establishment in the past. As the legend goes, according to the Matha legend as narrated by the Matha Mahanta , they are the Samadhi (burial) of previous Matha Mahantas. As per the Matha tradition, the Mahantas, by virtue of their religious merits, do not die like ordinary human beings. They announce, beforehand the day and time of their last breath or the state of Samadhi. Accordingly, arrangements are made for nomination of the successor and last rites of the Mahanta. After nomination of the successor he is ceremonially seated in a dugout pit where he is given a parting send off over an elaborate ritual and finally buried. Within a fortnight of the burial a temple is erected on the spot and a Siva lingam with a yoni pitha is enshrined in the sanctum in recognition of his religious merits and contributions for the wellbeing of the mankind. The ownership belongs to multiple parties. The approximate of the temple is still unknown. The property type is precinct having the sub type as Burial temple. The typology is Pidha deul. Currently the temple is abandoned and no worship is undertaken. The temple is surrounded by Bharati Matha building in east, Talesvara temple in West, compound wall of the burials in north and south. The temple is facing towards east. The architectural features include a low and square platform measuring 2.00 square mtrs with a height of 0.26 mtrs. On plan, the burial-temple measures 1.82 square mtrs. With the three fold divisions of the bada, the temple has a trianga bada measuring 1.53 mtrs in height (pabhaga 0.34 mtrs, jangha-0.95 mtrs, and baranda 0.24mtrs.). Gandi measuring 1.68 mtrs in height has three receding tiers. The mastaka measures 0.62 mtrs with the usual components of beki, ghanta, amalaka and kalasa). The doorjambs measure 1.14 mtrs in height and 0.49 mtrs in width. Laterite is used for construction, while the technique is mainly Ashlar masonry with cement plaster with kalingan style of design. There is an advanced state of deterioration because of the growth of vegetation on the superstructure.
The Date of Documentation is 22.12.2006 by Dr. Sadasiba Pradhan & team.
References
Dr. Sadasiba Pradhan & team.