Rajarani Temple, Bhubaneswar

No founding inscription is cited in the sources used here. On the basis of its architecture and sculpture, the heritage documentation record dates the temple to Somavamsi rule, at the end of the 10th century or the start of the 11th century CE (IGNCA). The Ministry of Tourism places its construction in the 11th century (Incredible India), as does a travel feature on the city's old temples (Outlook Traveller).

The name Rajarani is generally explained by the red and yellow sandstone used to build the temple (Incredible India; Outlook Traveller). The temple has no record of rituals or historical events linked to it in the documentation form, which lists the Archaeological Survey of India as its present custodian (IGNCA).

Architecture and sacred features

The temple faces east and has two parts, a rekha vimana (curved tower over the sanctum) and a pidha jagamohana (hall with a stepped pyramidal roof) of the Kalinga order, set within an irregular compound wall (IGNCA). It is built of sandstone in dry ashlar masonry, while the compound wall is of laterite (IGNCA). The walls are divided into three vertical sections (triangabada), and small rekha-style shrines are attached at the corners of the jagamohana, an arrangement the record suggests may draw on the panchayatana plan (IGNCA).

The exterior carries scrollwork, chaitya motifs, latticework, elephants and lions, along with images of Surya, Nataraja, Ardhanarishvara, Lakulisa, Harihara and Parvati, and figures of vidyadharas, nayikas and couples (IGNCA). The interior is plain (IGNCA). Travel writers single out the celestial female figures and ornamental patterns on its walls (Outlook Traveller).