The Antiquities of Orissa v2.c17.s1.57

v2.c17.s1.57

**Kotitirthesvara :**—About a quarter of a mile to the E.N.E. of the last, there is, on the edge of a small mango tope, a dilapidated old temple about 40 feet high with a corresponding porch. It is dedicated to the lord of ten millions of sacred pools, whence its name *Koṭītīrtheśvara*. Its material is a bluish-grey, coarse basalt, and not, as in the case of the temples already noticed, brick-red sandstone. All the temples which are built of this basalt are comparatively plain, the material not being well adapted for fine carvings; and their make is such as to leave no doubt in my mind that they belong to a different and a much earlier age. Even then these were not the earliest temples built at Bhuvaneśvara, for, on examining the broken walls of the Koṭītīrtheśvara, I found that it had been built of stones which had originally belonged to some other edifice, as a great many of them had elaborate carvings on those faces which were inside the walls: the half-fallen walls have now brought them to light. A few of the carvings appeared to me to be of a Buddhist character, and it is probable that old temples and *caityas* of the Buddhists have contributed the materials for this edifice.