Westward origins, eastward move
The Somavaṃśīs — called Keśarī in later Odia tradition — began in the upper Mahanadi basin as successors to the Pāṇḍuvaṃśins, and in the tenth century moved east to take the coastal country from the Bhauma-Karas. For the first time the interior and the coast were held by one dynasty, and the two architectural traditions met.
They claimed lunar descent, as the name indicates, and took full imperial titles.
Bhubaneswar
The Somavaṃśī period is the classical age of Odishan temple architecture. The Liṅgarāja temple at Bhubaneswar, built in the eleventh century, is the largest and most complete expression of the style — a soaring curvilinear tower over the sanctum with a pyramidal hall before it, the whole covered in sculpture. The Muktesvara and Rajarani temples in the same city belong to the same period and are its finest smaller works.
The dynasty was displaced by the Eastern Gangas under Anantavarman Coḍagaṅga around the beginning of the twelfth century, and it was the Gangas who carried the tradition on to Puri and Konark.
Further reading
- Michell, George. The Hindu Temple: An Introduction to Its Meaning and Forms. University of Chicago Press, 1988
- Blurton, T. Richard. Hindu Art. Harvard University Press, 1993
- Davis, Richard H. Lives of Indian Images. Princeton University Press, 1997
- Dehejia, Vidya. Art of the Imperial Cholas. Columbia University Press, 1990
- Elgood, Heather. Hinduism and the Religious Arts. Cassell, 1999
See also
This entry was last revised on 1 August 2026.