Bhubaneswar & beyond · Crown of the Temple City
Lingaraj Temple, Bhubaneswar
An 11th-century, 55-metre-tall Shiva-Vishnu temple — the largest in Bhubaneswar and the pinnacle of Kalinga architecture, surrounded by 50 smaller shrines.
History & legend
Begun in the 11th century under the Somavamsi king Yayati Kesari and completed by the Ganga kings, Lingaraj is the culmination of 900 years of Kalinga temple building in Bhubaneswar, the 'City of Temples' once home to over 7,000 shrines around the Bindu Sagar tank. The 55-metre sandstone tower shelters a self-manifested (swayambhu) lingam worshipped as Harihara, a union of Shiva and Vishnu — reflecting the rise of Jagannath worship in medieval Odisha. Historian James Fergusson called it 'one of the finest examples of purely Hindu temple in India'. The complex has around 150 subsidiary shrines and its Shivratri and Rukuna Rath festivals draw huge crowds.
Timings
5:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Best time to visit
Shivratri or early mornings
Entry fee
Free · Hindus only inside · viewing platform for others
Approx. cab from Puri (one way)
₹1,500 · 60 km × ₹25/km
Don't miss
- Harihara deity
- Bindu Sagar lake
- Ekamra Kshetra old town
- Ananta Vasudeva Temple nearby
Local tip: Non-Hindus can view the complex from the platform on the north side built for Lord Curzon.
On the map
