Vaital Deul Mandir, Orissa, IN

Deity: Chamunda Devi
Location: Bhubaneshwar, Orissa
Built in: 8th Century
Also known as: Deul Temple
Best time to visit: October to April

Vaital Temple in Bhubaneshwar is replete with the symbols of human sacrifice and steeped in some exclusive temple sculptures that exhibit eroticism. The temple is one of the most highly revered ones among the Hindus and a large number of devotees drop in to offer their prayers with offerings on some auspicious occasions.

This interesting 8th century temple is dedicated to Chamunda (Kali). She wears a necklace of skulls and is shown as the eight-armed slayer of the buffalo demon. Her necklace of skulls and the corpse she is sitting on are usually hidden by her robes. In her arms she holds a snake, a bow, a shield, a trident, a thunderbolt and an arrow with which she is piercing the neck of the demon, thus displaying the most terrifying aspect of the goddess Kali. Owl and a jackal, sits on a corpse. Her body, emaciated and reduced to skin and bones, is adorned with the garland of skulls. Her sunken eyes and shrunken belly and the cerie setting with a number of strange images filling the niches around the sanctum, present here in her terrible best.

A brief look at the Vaital Temple will show an extremely accomplished style of sculptural decoration. A slightly closer look will reveal some of the darker facets of the sculpture's content, and the temple's nature. The Tantric worship, which combined elements from certain sects of both Buddhism and Hinduism, is centered on the worship of 'Shakti', the female life force. It developed elaborate rituals involving magic spells, secret rituals and sacrificial offerings. The interior of the Vaital Temple's inner sanctum is almost completely dark, in keeping with the esoteric rites believed to have been performed there.

The 15 niches, which adorn the interior wall around her, are also filled with a series of singularly strange images. In front of the entrance to the sanctum is a 'four faced' 'linga' adorned with unusual carvings. Next to it is a post, to which sacrificial offerings were tied. The entire atmosphere is, in the words of one specialist, disquieting. On the outer, eastern face of the tower, there is an extremely fine image of the sun god, Surya, with a sensitive and beautiful face. He is flanked by 'Usha' and 'Pratyusha', twin sisters of the dawn, while 'Aruna' drives his chariot.

Architecture:
Vaital Temple is an excellent example of Kalinga architecture that attracts visitors from all over the world.Vaital temple is perhaps the finest extent representative of the Khakhara order that was especially devoted to the tantric cults. The deul rectangular in shape and oblong on plan is positioned at a right angle to the flat-roofed jagamohana. The two-storeyed semi-cylindrical wagon roof of the deul strongly suggests the influence of Buddhist cave architecture. The vault of the deul is rather plain without any art work and the shape of the common deul in miniature form adorns the four corners of the jagamohana.

On the backside, the five pilasters have been crowned by two vidalas seated back to back above two carved mouldings. The medallion of the upper chaitya window, in addition to a ten-armed Nataraj, has the figures of Lakulisa on the south and the composite form of Hari-Hara on the north. In front of the jagamohana the stone post shows two Buddha like figures seated in the famous dharmachakra pravartana mudra.

Some of the early erotic sculptures in Orissan art are found here. The erotica later became a conventional motif, ubiquitously present in almost all forms of decorative temple architecture. The figures depicted in various positions were probably relevant in the context of the tantric rites.

Other important temples in Bhubaneshwar:
Lingaraja Temple
Rajarani Temple
Parasurameswar Temple
Bindu Sagar

How to reach:
by Air: Bhubaneswar has its own airport named Biju Patnaik Airport. Regular flights operate to and from Bhubaneswar to all metros and major destinations in India. The airport is around 3 km from city.
by Rail: Bhubaneswar is one of the most important railway stations in Eastern India. It has connecting trains to many states and major cities.
by Road: The city being the capital is well connected to all parts of the state and nearby states as well. There is regular bus service to and from all major cities. The main bus stand is at a distance of 8 km from the city center.

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