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Showing posts from July 23, 2007


Leaning Hindu Temple of Huma in Sambalpur, Orissa

The leaning Hindu Temple at Huma in Sambalpur, Orissa, breaks all the written rules in Shilpasashtra, the traditional book for Hindu temple architecture. The leaning temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, who is known here as Lord Bimaleswar. Interestingly, the other smaller temples in the complex too are tilted in various angles. In fact, all most all the structures in the Huma temple complex including the boundary walls are tilted. The wonders don’t end with leaning structures; there are fishes on the river near the temple which gobble food from the hands of the devotees. The 17 th century Lord Shiva temple Huma is located on the banks of the River Mahandi. The main temple leans at an angle of 47 degrees to the west and the other small temples and gateway tilts at various other angles to various directions. Strangely, the pinnacle of the structures does not lean. People believe that the structures were designed by Vishwakarma – the divine architect of the Hindu world. T