Astasambhu Siva Temples

The Astasambhu temples are a group of eight small Shiva shrines of identical size inside the compound of the Uttaresvara temple in Bhubaneswar. Ashta means eight and Sambhu is a name of Shiva. Five of them stand in a single row and are known locally as the Panchu Pandava. Their mouldings and wall divisions date them to about the 10th century.

The group sits between the Godavari tank to the east and the Bindusagar tank to the south. Each is a stone rekha deul facing east, with a square sanctum about 2.45 metres across and a tower some 5.7 metres high. The walls are divided into three parts with simple base mouldings, and the upper tower is left plain, finishing in the ribbed amalaka and pot-shaped kalasha. Small niches for attendant deities are set into the north, west and south walls.