The temple culture is the most predominant feature that strikes the visitor entering the holy state of Orissa. The numerous shrines and temples dotted all over the state speak starkly of the role of religion in Orissa's architecture, sculpture, metal crafts, textiles... the entire gamut of everyday life, as it were... in a manner that is at once vibrant and incredibly appealing.

Some of the most spectacular examples of religious architecture are to be found here. From the splendid ruins of the Sun Temple at Konark to the highly sanctified environs of the Jagannath Temple at Pun, the impact of religious intensity is stunning beyond belief.

The Orissan temple architecture holds an appeal that is magnetic and almost stupefying in its extravagance and mobility. The dizzying heights of the heavily sculpted towers are as much reason for wonder as are the exquisitely wrought base-reliefs within their numerous halls. Orissa's Golden Triangle of Bhubaneswar-Puri-Konark alone gives the visitor a remarkable vision of the clear line of development linking the major temples.

The finger of creativity delineates an amorphous linkage amongst the Orissan temples but the beauty of each one is pulsating with life and joy. From the Parsurameswar Temple at Bhu banes war to the Sun Temple at Konark, the temple, architecture spans a period from the 7th to the 13th century A.D.

The indigenous core of the Kalinga School of architecture rests on the two essential structures - the deula or the conical convex spire ending in a lotus shaped form; and the Jagmohan or the porch structure. The inner sanctum lies at the base of the deula, while numerous other halls, of offering, of dance, bathing platform and other lesser shrines can be incorporated in the enclosed compound of the temple.

The other architectural beauty is the tiny Mukteswar Temple in Bhubaneswar while the Vaital Temple is as impressive with its powerful nuances. The circular Yogini shrines at Hirapur and Ranipur-Jharial are dynamically forceful elements in religious architecture.