Loknath Temple

Loknath Temple is a Shiva shrine in Puri, a short way from the Jagannath Temple, known locally as Shri Lokanatha Mandira. According to tradition, Rama stopped here while searching for Sita and wished to worship Shiva. A man from the nearby village of Sabarapalli handed him a bottle gourd shaped like a lingam, which Rama set up and prayed before. The deity was first called Laukanatha, a name that later turned into Loknath.

The sandstone temple rises about 30 feet and is laid out in four parts: the vimana, jagamohana, natamandapa and bhogamandapa. Carved deities cover the outer walls of the main shrine. A smaller temple in the courtyard holds images of Surya-Narayana and Chandra-Narayana, and a Satya-Narayan shrine in the complex houses Vishnu, Lakshmi and several brass idols.