The famous Madhava temple is situated on the eastern bank of the Prachi River. The area between Niali and Madhava appears to have been the principal centre of the Madhava cult in Odisha, made well-known in Sri Jayadeva’s Gita Govinda. The temple is also sometimes referred to as “Durgamadhava” because of the presence of a small ‘Durga’ image next to Madhava within the sanctum. This joint worship of Durga and Madhava is unique to Odishan ‘Vaishnavism’, and is yet, another testament of the great Odishan process of synthesis. Madhava is a temple in dynamic worship, and, in fact, draws a large number of pilgrims from all over Odisha.
Architectural Relevance of This Shrine
The Temple is built in Pancharatha design. Three buildings, namely Vimana, Jagamohana and Natamandapa. The Vimana is of Rekha Deula, Jagamohana is of Pidha deula and the Natamandapa is flat-roofed and recently renovated by Archaeological Survey of India. The motifs are of different serpents, naayikas, devatas etc. The temple belongs to the 13th century and was built by Eastern Ganga dynasty. The architecture of this temple is very much similar to that of Sakshigopal Temple of Puri and Ananta Vasudev temple of Bhubaneswar.
You can find the images of Dasa-Avatar of Vishnu, a big Sudarshan Chakra made up of Black granite stone and also the image of Ananta Sayana of lord Vishnu in the walls of Jagamohana and Natamandapa. The outer walls of the temple are carved with beautiful old Pauranic images from Krishna Lila & Mahabharata. Some erotic carvings can also be found on the outer wall of the temple.
By Road
A smooth network of National Highways connects Cuttack with the rest of India. Regular buses and taxis ply to and fro Cuttack for all the major cities of India.
By Rail
The nearest railway station is Cuttack
By Air
The nearest airport is Biju Patnaik Airport at Bhubaneswar.
Events Celebrated at This Shrine
Many festivals like Janmashtami, Ekadashi and special festivals in Maagha and Vaishakha month are observed here
Extra Information About this Shrine
The central icon Madhava who is a rare image. The upper left arm holds Gada, lower left Sudarshana Chakra, upper right full-blown Lotus and lower right Shankha. In the Jagamohana a rare image of Durga is found. She is worshipped as the sister of Madhava.