The Antiquities of Orissa v2.c18.123

v2.c18.123

**Kapilas Hill.** To the north-west of Cuttack, at a distance, as the crow flies, of 15 miles, there is a hill described in the *Kapila Saṃhitā* under the name of Kailāsa, which has since been corrupted to Kapilās. It is also called Śambhu Kṣetra. It is the south easternly spur of the Dhenkānal Garjāt Hills, and said to be a little over 2,000 feet in height. Its crest is about half a mile long and 250 yards broad, bare of vegetation and devoid of water. Its sides are, however, well clothed with a variety of trees and contain several fountains of sweet water. Four hundred feet below the crest there is a temple dedicated to Śiva under the name of Śikhareśvara or Candraśekhara. The image in the temple is that of a *liṅgam*. Close by is a fountain of limpid water, which is held in high estimation for its sanctity. The story runs that a king of the name of Sudāsa, in remote antiquity, performed here a rigorous penance for many years and obtained from Śiva a personal visit ; and the place on the crest of the hill derived its sanctity from that circumstance. It is the sacred abode of Śiva and his consort, and a visit to it, as usual, is a sure expiation for even the most heinous sins that man can commit. The water of the fountain is the ambrosia of heaven in disguise. The temple is probably 8 or 9 hundred years old ; but it has nothing to interest the antiquarian. Lately a proposition was made to establish here a sanitarium for the European Officers of Cuttack, Puri and Balasore.