Vimala

The temple is located in the south-west corner of the inner enclosure of the Jagannath temple complex and on the right hand western corner of the tower of Jagannath, next to the sacred pond Rohini kunda. The temple faces east and is built of sandstone and laterite. It is built in the Deula style that has four components namely, vimana (structure containing the sanctum), jagamohana (assembly hall), nata-mandapa (festival hall) and bhoga-mandapa (hall of offerings). The temple is maintained and was renovated around 2005 by the Archaeological Survey of India, Bhubaneswar Circle.

The vimana is a Rekha deula (a tall building with a shape of sugarloaf), 60 feet (18 m) in height and in shape of 15 feet (4.6 m) square. It stands on a 2 feet (0.61 m) platform, which is decorated with lotus and other floral designs and scrollwork. The outer wall of the vimana is divided into 5 parts (from base to top): pabhaga, talajangha, bandhana, upara jangha and baranda. The niches and intervening recesses of the first part of the wall are ornate, with khakhara mundis (a type of niche), scrollwork, floral designs, creepers, love-making couples and Nagas (serpent-men).

The Vimala Temple is considered one of the Shakta pithas, the most sacred temples of the Hindu Goddess, identified with Parvati or Durga. It is considered to be a prime example of the importance of the Shakti tradition in Odisha. It is customary to worship the god Shiva (Parvati's consort) at each Shakta pitha in the form of Bhairava, the male counterpart or guardian of the presiding goddess of the Shakta pitha. In Goddess-oriented worship, Vimala (Bimala) is regarded as the presiding goddess of the Purushottama (Puri) Shakta pitha. Jagannath, a form of the god Vishnu/Krishna (Krishna is generally regarded as an avatar of Vishnu), is worshipped as the Pitha's Bhairava. This is a departure from the usual tradition of Bhairava as a form of Shiva. So, in this temple complex, Vishnu–one of the Hindu trinity–is equated with Shiva, another of the trinity; this is interpreted to convey the oneness of God. In this regard, Vimala - generally associated with Shiva's consort - is also considered as Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu. Conversely, Tantrics consider Jagannath as Shiva-Bhairava, rather than a form of Vishnu. The main sanctum of the Jagannath Temple has three deities: Jagannath, Balabhadra (elder brother of Krishna, sometimes identified with Shiva) and Subhadra (the younger sister of Krishna and Balabhadra).

Located in: Puri, Odisha.