Tirtha Atlas

The sacred geography of the Indic world — every site mapped, dated, storied, and cited.

2271 sites15 countries4 traditions30 centuries
High medieval · Hindu · India

Nilamadhav Temple

Kantilo, Nayagarh district, Odisha · 20.3646°, 85.1951°

Vishnu as NilamadhavaUndetermined
Sacred since
1000 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
dating unrecorded
Undetermined

History & significance

A hill temple to Vishnu as Nilamadhava above Kantilo, near the meeting of the Mahanadi, Kuanria and Kusumi that Odias call their triveni sangam. Its structure follows that of the Jagannath temple at Puri.

Sthala katha — the legend

The shrine is said to have begun when the Sabara chief Biswabasu worshipped the deity, known in his tongue as Kitung, as a blue sapphire image in a cave of the Brahmadri hills, before a wooden form took its place.

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Sources

coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-27 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Undetermined