3.3. Khakhara Deula type of Temple

The third type of temple in Orissa is called khakhara deula. This type of temple is exclusively meant for the Sakti worship. 33 The temple is so called because, as supposed by some scholars of its resemblance with Voita-Kakharu, local name of pumpkin-gourd.34 While the ground plans of the rekha deula and jagamohana (pidha deula) are square, the plan of the khakhara temple is oblong. 35

The khakhara deula is distinguished by a semi-cylindrical vaulted roof, which seems to have been derived from the caitya halls of the Buddhists (Fig.No-3). The treatment of the earliest of this type is a structural representation of the rock-cut architecture. A few scholar has traced its origin to the rock-cut rathas of Mahavalipuram. 35 But in all other respects the temple confirms to the Orissan Style. The ground plan of the temples of the khakhara type is generally oblong instead of square as that of the rekha type. The inner walls of the khakhara deula generally remain dark, but in the Vaitala temple the inner walls are relieved with the images of the Saptamatrkas, Ganesa and Bhairava. The presiding deity Camunda occupies the central position of the backwall. This is the only example in Orissa where the inner walls of the sanctum are relieved with images. Externally, the khakhara deula can be divided into the usual vertical divisions such as pista, bada, gandi and mastaka. The Gauri temple at Bhubaneswar and the Varahi temple at Caurasi stand on pista or platforms. The treatment of all the divisions except mastaka is same as that of the rekha deula. But the bada of the Vaitala has, above its pabhaga mouldings, elegantly carved with shallow pilasters in the place of ratha projections. The gandi has two bhumi divisions. In the Gauri temple the bhumi amalas are not represented. Both the kanika and anuratha pagas are decorated with two superimposed miniature khakhara temples with a kalasa on the top. The most distinguishing feature of the khakhara deula is its semicylindrical vaulted roof, which is separated from the gandi, either by a recessed panel as in the case of Vaitala temple or by a bold mouldings as noticed in the Gauri temple. The roof is constructed in two levels with a recess in between.3 Except the Vaitala, the roof partakes of the paga divisions of gandi. Its bold appearance in the Vaitala temple develops into an ornate one in the Varahi temple. In Gauri and Varahi temples a kalasa crowns the top whereas in the Vaitala the arrangement is defferent. In this temple the roof is crowned by three amalakasilas, each with the usual finials. Miniature temples of the khakhara order, locally called khakhara mundis, are used as decorative architectural motifs in both rekha and pidha deulas. However the khakhara temples are not so common in Orissa as the other two types. At Bhubaneswar temples of the khakhara order are the Vaitala temple, 36

the Gauri temple, the Gopalini and Savitri shrines inside the Lingaraj temple Compound. The other notable khakhara temples of Orissa are the Varahi temple at Caurasi (Puri district), the Gangesvari temple at Bayalisibati (near Gop in Puri district), the Durga temple at Baulapur (near Tapanga, Puri district), the Durga temple at Ramesvara (Cuttack district) etc. These temples were constructed in different periods, reveal the distinctive character and architectural peculiarities of the style and help us to trace the course of its evolution. The Vaitala temple of Bhubaneswar is the best preserved among the earliest specimens of the khakhara order deula. K.C.Panigrahi suggests that "the Vaitala temple was a place of worship of the Kapalikas who used to invoke the aid of the Vetalas (spirits) for their siddhis, and from the word Vetala, the name Vaitala has been derived".37Krsna Deva has referred that the wagon vault roof of Vaitala temple resembles the "Teli-ka Mandira' at Gwalior.38 The Varahi temple of Caurasi represents an advancement over the Vaitala temple in the description of the bada. The Gangesvari temple at Bayalisbati is the most developed among the khakhara order temples of Orissa. On the stylistic grounds, K.S.Behera has referred that the temple may be assigned to the 13th century AD.39 This temple may be remarkable for the graceful toranas adorning the entrance and the two other pagas of the jagamohana .40