Ajaikapada Bhairava Temple

Ajaikapada Bhairava Temple in Jagatsinghpur district, Odisha, honours Ekapada Bhairava, a form of Shiva. According to the archaeological survey, the Somavamsi Keshari kings raised the first temple in the early 10th century. Floods and attacks by Muslim invaders later destroyed it, and the present building dates from the 20th century.

Today the shrine is a small pidha deula, yet its garbhagriha still holds the image of Bhairava together with a Shivalinga. The Bhairava stands on a single foot and has four hands; the lower two are broken, and the upper two hold disc-shaped objects. Ajaikapada Bhairava is regarded as the ruling deity of the star Purva Bhadrapada. The temple lies at Sathalapada, 6 km from Alanahat, near the Alaka river, a branch of the Mahanadi, and can also be reached directly from Nuagaon.