(From top:) Bindusagar lake seen from the Ekamra Vana; devotees near Mukuteswar temple’s tank, Papanasini tank near the Lingaraj temple and Kedar Gouri tank on the temple premises. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Aug. 8: Email and mobile phones may be recent additions to fast-paced urban living, but these are not the only times when people have wanted to escape the hustle and bustle of daily life for some peace and quiet.

The story of Old Town from legend long ago is somewhat similar to ours.

According to local legend, Lord Siva and Goddess Parvati arrived in Varanasi after their wedding. With the passage of time, however, they became restless and longed for a respite from the overcrowded temple town. In their quest for a quiet place, they stumbled upon Ekamrakshetra (the ancient name of Bhubaneswar). It was then controlled by two demons — Kirti and Vasa. Goddess Parvati killed the two demons by pressing them into the ground with her feet.

The place where she is believed to have killed them is now called Devi Padahara. After killing the demons, Parvati felt thirsty; to quench her thirst, Lord Siva struck his trident into the ground and out leapt a spring. Water from holy rivers and streams was then used to sanctify the spring, which ultimately took the form of a large water body — Bindusagar.

To this day, Bindusagar — the largest water body in Bhubaneswar — is considered one of the most holy of water bodies in the state.

While this story about the creation of Bindusagar is a part of mythology, Prof. Sadasiba Pradhan, in his book Lesser Known Monuments of Bhubaneswar, talks about an interesting fact about lesser known historical monuments — 17 beautiful tanks, which are next only to the temples of the capital. “Out of the 199 listed lesser-known monuments, 160 were temples (80 per cent); the tanks make their presence felt with a 8.5 per cent visibility,” writes Prof. Pradhan, who is the head of the postgraduate department of ancient Indian history, culture and archaeology, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar

According to experts, the water in all the ancient tanks in Old Town of the city has medicinal properties.

“All the ancient water bodies of the Old Town area have medicinal qualities. People from various parts of the country even use the water to treat certain ailments. Tourists from Bengal take the water from tanks on the premises of the temple of Kedar-Gouri to cure acidity. In fact, the water in the two tanks of Kedar-Gouri comes in contact with the roots of Kochila trees (Strychnos nux-vomica). So they imbibe medicinal properties from the plants,” says Bijay Kumar Rath, former state archaeologist.

According to Rath, people believe that the water from some tanks in the city can even help couples beget children.

“Another stream fills the tank of Mukteswar Temple near the Kedar-Gouri temple. But the medicinal properties of the water in the Marichi Kunda on the temple premises is very important. People believe that on an auspicious day on the Hindu calendar, women who have no children can use the waters of the tank in religious rituals and bear a child,” Rath says.

“Other tanks like Godavari, Ganga-Yamuna, Kotitirtheswar, Gosagareswar and Brahmeswar were also mentioned as tanks that are of religious import and the water in these tanks have medicinal properties,” Rath added.

Some other tanks mentioned Prof. Pradhan’s book include:

Manikarnika Tank: According to the legend, Goddess Parvati lost her mani-kundala (earrings) while fighting with the demons Kirti and Vasa. The earrings were discovered when Lord Siva struck his trident upon the earth on the Kapila-kunda. Parvati offered the rings to Lord Kapileswar.

Hence another name of Kapileswar is Kapila muni (sage Kapila) and the tank where from the earrings were recovered was known as Manikarneswar kunda (tank).

Every day Lord Kapileswar is given a bath using the water from Manikarnika tank. The tank is held in high esteem among devotees. It is located beyond the southern compound wall of the Kapileswar Temple precinct, on the outskirts of Kapileswar village. It is now under the care of the Kapileswara Trust Board. The tank is enclosed within a masonry embankment made of both sandstone and laterite.

Kotitirtha Tank: Local residents hold the tank in high esteem as a sacred place for cleansing sins. The tank is used for various ritual practices like offering pinda daan (funeral rituals). It is also a Panchatirtha (five holy places), the other four being Ganga-Yamuna, Bindusagar, Devi Padahara and Papanasini tanks.

The deity in the adjoining temple on the western embankment is named Kotitirtheswar after the tank. It is a natural spring.

Papanasini Tank: According to legend, a sage named Sajoti performed severe penance here without taking food and water for a long time. Satisfied with his penance, Lord Siva appeared before the sage and told him to ask for a boon. The sage requested Lord Siva for a kunda (tank) that would cleanse the sins of human beings. Then the Lord created this tank, which is known as Papanasini.

It is one of the Panchatirthas of Bhubaneswar or Ekamrakshetra. Bhima Kunda is located beyond the western compound wall of the Bhimeswar Temple in Kapila Prasad of Old Town. According to author Minati Sarangi, the temple was established by one of the Pandavas — Bhima.

In fact, there were five lingams established by the Pandavas and later the temples were built by others.

The tank, which was excavated by cutting through laterite, dries up in the summer, as it is not a stream. The embankment is made of laterite. It is currently maintained by the Bhimeswar Temple Development Committee.

Plunge of faith

● Place: Old Town, Bhubaneswar
● Distance from Bhubaneswar railway station: 5 km
● Distance from Biju Patnaik Airport: 4 km
● Travel-made-easy: Contact the tourist office in Bhubaneswar or your travel agent
● How to get there: Rented vehicles, autorickshaws
● Where to stay: Orissa Tourism Development Corporation’s Pantha Nivas, Jatri Nivas, run by Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, budget and luxury hotels
● What to ask: Guides can tell you about the historical background of monuments