The sacred geography of the Indic world — every site mapped, dated, storied, and cited.
Ranipur-Jharial, Balangir district, Odisha · 20.2871°, 82.9683°
The tallest brick temple in Odisha, standing at Ranipur-Jharial in Balangir district and dated by the Archaeological Survey of India, which maintains it, to the 10th-11th century; its images of Narasimha, Vishnu, Ganesha and Kartikeya point to a site where Shaiva and Vaishnava worship met.
What follows is the temple’s own traditional account, transmitted through liturgy and local memory. It is recorded here as tradition, not as attested history.
The temple takes its name from the belief that Indra himself first worshipped Shiva at this spot and raised a shrine over it.
coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-27 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Somavamshi
Answers only from cited records
Opening the line…