Recent Study on Kalinga Style Architecture of a Famous Vishnu Temple of the Cuttack District of Odisha in India

Abstract

The region of Cuttack district of Odisha is an important historical place of the temple building activities of coastal belt of Odisha in India. It is known from the field study that a good number of Vaishnava temples noticed in the different places of the Cuttack district of Odisha. Out of all the extant Vaishnavite temples of the coastal belt of Odisha, the Madhavananda temple of Madhava has been taken here for the scholarly discussion considering their architectural significance. The Cuttack district of Odisha is well-known for its archaeological antiquities and religious sanctuaries in the Eastern Odisha. The architectural designs and pattern of the extant temples of Cuttack district are the significant parts of Odishan temple art in India. Al the extant temples of the Cuttack district represent the Kalinga style of temple architecture of Odisha in India. In fact, the artistic designs and architectural features of the Madhavananda temple of Madhava draw the attention of scholars, art historians and archaeologists to undertake more research works. Some old sculptures are found to be worshipped in the Madhavananda temple of Madhava for which the present author has undertaken it for scholarly discussion. The extant images of Madhavananda temple were made by the artists of Kalingan School of artists of Odisha and these epitomize the iconographic features of the Odishan classical art of the medieval period. The present article attempts to highlight the architectural style along with the religious importance of the Madhavananda temple of the Cuttack district of Odisha in India. Both the primary and secondary sources are meticulously utilized in the writing of this article.