Chakreshvari Siva Temple, Bhubaneswar: History, Timings & Visitor Guide

Chakreshvari Siva Temple is open every day, usually from early morning to late evening with a break in the afternoon. Darshan and aarti timings change with the season and on festival days.

• MorningOpens early morning (around 5 to 6 AM)
• AfternoonShort break around midday at many temples
• EveningEvening aarti around sunset, closes by about 8 to 9 PM

Ask the temple office on arrival for the day's aarti schedule.

Dress Code & Temple Rules

• DressModest, traditional clothes covering shoulders and knees
• FootwearRemove before entering; use the shoe stand
• PhotographyNot allowed inside the sanctum
• Not AllowedLeather items, tobacco, alcohol, non-veg food
• QueueFollow queue lines and staff instructions on festival days

In the lalatabimba, a four-armed Lord Ganesha is found in place of the usual Gaja-laxmi. It is an exception of the temples of Bhubaneswar. Another departure is at Kalarahanga where the lalatabimba is occupied by images of both Ganesha and Saraswati. In front of the temple, there are images of Parvati and Kartikeya and an amlaka stone in the southern side of the temple.

The doorjambs are decorated with three vertical bands of scroll works like puspa sakha, nara, sakha and patra sakha from exterior to interior. At the lalatabimba there is a four-armed Ganesha within a niche seated over his mount mouse.

At the base of the doorjamb, there are dvarapala niches on either sides. The niches enshrine two armed Saivite dwrapala holding tridents in their right hands and varada in left hands. The architrave above the doorjamb is beautifully carved with Navagrahas in the niches. Surya holds a lotus in his hands, Rahu holds a half moon and Ketu with a serpent tail.

Architecture of Chakreshvari Siva Temple

On plan, the temple has a vimana and a renovated frontal porch. The vimana(shrine) is pancharatha and the frontal porch. On elevation, the vimana is of rekha order; it extends from pabhaga to kalasa. From bottom to the top, the temple has a bada, gandi and mastaka. With three-fold divisions of the bada, the temple has a trianga bada. At the bottom, the pabhaga has four base mouldings of khura, kumbha, pata and basanta.