Indian Style of Temple Architecture with Special Reference to Lord Jagannatha Temple of Sonepur in Western Odisha

Abstract

Sonepur town is famous for its historic antiquities and religious sanctuaries in Western Odisha. It is a place of considerable antiquarian interest, which attracts the scholars of the Odishan temple art. This town possesses a good number of temples of various sects of Hinduism. Among the extant temples of Sonepur town, the Jagannatha temple is considered as a notable Vaishnava shrine of that locality. The Jagannatha temple of Sonepur represents the pidha type of the Kalinga Style of temple architecture of Odisha in Eastern India. The temple of Jagannatha comprises of vimana, jagamohana and natamandapa. The vimana and jagamohana of the temple were possibly erected in the same period but the natamandapa has been built in the 20th century A.D. Here the vimana and the jagamohana of Lord Jagannatha temple represent the pidha type of the Odishan temple architecture with some regional variations. Besides the images of the Jagannath Trinty, brass images of various deities like Gaja-Lakshmi, Radha-Krishna, Sarasvati, Hanumana, Rama-Lakshmana, Parvati, Vimala, Narasimha, Narayana, Parshurama, Gopala Krishna, Anthua-Gopala, Lokanatha Mahadeva, Kartikeya, Jaya and Vijaya figures and Salagrama silas are also found to be worshipped  of on the simhasana of the sanctum. Besides the three main structures, some additional shrines of Surya, Vimala, Lakshmi, Sarasvati, Lokanatha, Ganesha, Radha-Krishna, Hanumana, Foot-prints of Lord Vishnu, etc. are also found to be erected inside the Jagannatha temple premises. The aim of this article is to focus on the artistic features and architectural pattern of the Jagannatha temple of Sonepur of Odisha in Eastern India.