Parsurameswara Temple

The Parsurameswara temple in Bhubaneswar is regarded as the best-preserved early Odia Hindu temple, dating from the Shailodbhava period. K.C. Panigrahi places it around 650 CE, while others suggest the early 8th century. Dedicated to Shiva, it belongs to the Parashurameshvara group, the oldest temples in the city, and shows all the main traits of Kalinga architecture before the 10th century.

Its curved spire rises to about 12 metres over the sanctum, and it was the first temple in the region to add a separate hall, the jagamohana, in front of the shrine. Although a Shiva temple, it carries carvings of Shakta goddesses and is the first in Bhubaneswar to show the Saptamatrikas, the seven mother goddesses. The Archaeological Survey of India runs it as a ticketed monument, and Parashurashtami in June–July is its main festival.