CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · Places & Architecture

Mahakala-Mahakali Temple

temple in India

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 1, 2026
Entity authorityQ6732861 ↗
Source-derived summary

Mahakala-Mahakali Temple was built around 11th century A.D. and is located at Latitude of- 20 degree 14’ 26" N., Longitude of- 85 degree 50’ 05" E and Elevation of- 71 ft. It is situatedted beyond the eastern compound wall of Lingaraja temple on the right side of the temple road leading to Hatasahi, Old Town, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. It is a shrine without a superstructure. The presiding deity is a Siva-lingam within a square yonipitha at a depth of 4.00 m below the present ground level. The shrine with stone walls is open to the sky. Close to the main deity is another small Siva lingam within another yonipitha which is known as Mahakali, while the central lingam is known as Mahakala. .According to the local tradition they are the parents of Lord Lingaraja.

Physical description

Surrounding

The temple is surrounded by the eastern compound wall of Lingaraja temple on its western side at a distance of 6.00 m and Hatasahi road on its east.

Architectural features

The temple has no superstructure and the deities are 4.00 m below the present road level which is provided with flight of fifteen steps

down to the sanctum.

Building techniques

It is made up of sandstone by dry masonry construction techniques.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Mahakala-Mahakali Temple” as temple in India. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA valuable geographic starting point for tracing changing names, boundaries, uses and administrative responsibility. The current 208-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Mahakala-Mahakali, Temple and temple can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as temple in India. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6732861. Authority coordinates are 20.241, 85.835. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.

Critical limits

Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Mahakala-Mahakali Temple”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Mahakala-Mahakali Temple primary sources, Mahakala-Mahakali Temple archive and Mahakala-Mahakali research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Mahakala-Mahakali Temple”?
  2. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
  3. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Mahakala-Mahakali Temple” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.