Pataleswar Temple, Budhikomna

Like the Indralath Temple in Balangir District, Pataleswar Temple offers a rare glimpse into the brick templebuilding tradition of ancient South Kosala. During the early medieval period, South Kosala encompassed parts of presentday Western Odisha and Chhattisgarh. Unlike Coastal Odisha, renowned for its stone temples, this region developed a distinctive tradition of brick architecture, points to the region’s adaptation of building materials and construction techniques as per the availability of raw materials in the region.

The temple is built in the traditional Pancharatha style, characterised by five projections along its exterior walls. Its sandstone foundation protects the porous brickwork from ground moisture and rainwater accumulation, showcasing the ingenuity of ancient builders in combining different materials to create durable sacred structures.

The construction of the temple generally attributed to somewhere between 7th Century – 10th Century CE, making it one of the earliest Brick Temples in Eastern India. Pataleswar Temple is therefore more than a place of worship: it is a valuable reminder of the architectural links between modern day Western Odisha and Central India, offering visitors a chance to discover a distinctive chapter in the history of Temple Architecture.