• Jan 25 2016
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Khiching

Comes under the district of Mayurbhanj, Khiching is a historical village that was once the capital of Bhanja rules. The star attraction of this beautiful place is a Maa Kichakeswari Temple which dates back to the 7th or 8th century. Kichakeswari Temple is made up of chlorite slabs and boasts an impressive Kalinga architectural design. However, the temple is believed to be the first temple of Odisha and because of this Khiching is known as the town with a rich heritage history. But, the architectural ruins recovered from this place said that the temple traces its history from the 8th to 12th century. It is also said that, once the town was a house of eight Shiva temples out of which seven can still be traced. At present, there are just three ancient temples left that worship Chandrasekhar, Kutaitundi, and Kichakeswari. In order to lure more tourists to the village, a museum has been also installed that boasts life-size images of numerous deities like Ganesha, Durga, Tara, Parvati, Parsvanatha, Vaishnavi, Avalokitesvara, Kartikeya, Dhyani Buddha, Uma-Maheswara, Nandi, and more.