Dhabaleshwar Shiva Temple
Dhabaleswar Siva Temple is located on top of the hillock of Dhauliis, in the exotic island of Dhabaleshwar on the River Mahanadi, in the district of Bhubaneswar in the state of Orissa.
The principal deity of this temple is Lord Shiva. The temple’s architectural styles belong to Kalingan Style (Kalinga Architecture). The city of Cuttack is just 37 km from the temple. It is a popular weekend tours spot in Orissa. Temple is largely embellished with stone carvings. This temple belonged to early 10th and 11th century. The serene ambiance plus spiritual feeling inspires devotees and tourists in this spot.
According to the local legends, this temple is constructed by Bir Kishor, the ruler of Khurda in 1153 of the Saka era. The temple was built by sand stone. In the present scenario, ferries service and foot bridge serves the devotees and tourists. Only a nominal fee is charged for ferry service.
The important festivals celebrated in this particular temple are Pausha purnima, Maha Shivaratri, Dola purnima, Kartika month festival and Kartika purnima. A large scale fair is held during the month of Kartika month, on the shukla paksha chaturdashi.
The local residents of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack in large number visit this fair plus devotees from the nook and corner of Orissa visit this particular temple during all the purnima day in each month of the Hindu religious calendar.
Special prayers, rituals and homas are conducted on the amavasya, purnima and other religious important days for the devotees. The temple is turning into spiritual and picnic spot because of the island atmosphere.