Champakesvara Siva Temple

Champakesvara Shiva Temple stands in Ambika Sahi in the Old Town of Bhubaneswar, 157 metres west of Parasuramesvara along the Kotitirthesvara lane to Bindusagar. It dates to the 13th century and was important in the Ganga period. Local people believe the linga is patalaphuta, risen from below, and that the precinct is the home of snakes, the champa naga, who give the deity its name; the snakes are said to harm no one.

Built of laterite within a laterite compound wall, the temple has a rekha-style tower over the sanctum and a pyramid-roofed porch, on a pancharatha plan. The sanctum lies 0.9 metres below today's ground level, and everything above the base mouldings is later renovation. The Kotitirthesvara tank lies to the east and the Visvanatha temple to the south. Shivaratri, Jalasayi, Rudrabhiseka and Sankranti are observed, and families hold thread ceremonies, birthdays and engagements here.