Vaital Deul is a tantric Shakta shrine located near Bindusagar in Bhubaneswar. Built during the eight century, this temple belongs to the Khakhara order – an offshoot of the Kalinga School. A striking feature is the shape of its sanctuary tower. The semi-cylindrical shape of its roof, a characteristic of the Khakhara order of temples bears an affinity to the Dravidian gopuram of the South India temples.
The plan of the Deul is oblong and the Jagamohana is a rectangular structure, but embedded in each angle is a small subsidiary shrine. Vaital Deul boasts some figures, which though executed in relief, are however characterized by delicacy of features and perfect equipoise.
The outer walls are encrusted with panels of Hindu deities, mostly Shiva and his consort Parvati in her Shakti form, hunting processions, capturing of wild elephants and the occasional erotic couples. A four-faced shiva lingam with unusual carvings is seen at the entrance.
The facade of the deula above the left of the jagamohana is dominated by two chaitya windows – the lower one having a beautifully carved figure of sun god Surya noted for its facial expression, with the ‘dawn twins’ Usha and Pratyusha shooting arrows on either side and Arjuna in front driving a chariot of seven horses.
The medallion in the upper chaitya-window houses a 10-armed Nataraja or dancing Shiva. In front of the flat roofed jagamohana is a stone post reliefed with two Buddha like figures seated in dharma-chakra-pravartana mudra.This stone post was probably used to tether sacrificial offerings, marking the tantric character of the shrine.
Another striking feature of the temple’s tantric associations are the eerie carvings in the sanctum. The dimly lit inner sanctum substantiates the fact that once it was a major center of esoteric rites and Tantric worship – the combined elements from certain sects of Buddhism and Hinduism. The image enshrined in the central niche is the eight armed Chamunda, locally known as Kapalini, who is the terrifying form of goddess Durga. Chamunda or Mahishasuramardini sits on a corpse flanked by a jackal and an owl and decorated with a garland of skulls. She holds a snake, bow, shield, sword, trident, thunderbolt and an arrow, and is piercing the neck of the demon. The niche is capped by a chaitya window containing seated figures of Shiva and Parvati. 15 niches around Chamunda hold strange looking figures.
Artificial light is required to be able to see in the darkness inside, though early morning sun somewhat lights up the interior.
